The Nights Get Stranger
by pandasize
Summary: Donatello goes topside for some peace and quiet after a particularly chaotic day only to get mixed up with a mysterious kunoichi and an even more mysterious conflict involving the Foot and an all-female team of highly trained ninja.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' ninjutsu skills are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about this story is strictly from the TMNT universe.

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

It started around 9:00PM, right after Donatello had finished his evening training exercises with his brothers and Master Splinter. He had endured a day of working long hours as an online programming consultant to help support his family, fixing miscellaneous broken household appliances, and showing his brothers the new upgraded security system that he installed in the lair. On top of the usual morning and evening training exercises, Donatello was spent. He had just plopped into his lab chair with a fresh cup of coffee, when suddenly the security alarms in the lair started to screech.

"YO DONNIE!" Raph roared from the living room. "Mikey broke da new security controller!"

"I thought it was the TV remote!" cried the youngest of his brothers over the wails of the sirens. "They look the same!"

Donatello composed himself and reluctantly emerged from his lab to reset the entire alarm system. _No problem_, he calmly told himself. _Just get this taken care of and you can finally enjoy a nice, peaceful night in the lab._

_**[Twenty minutes later]**_

The security alarm blared mercilessly again, trying the last threads of Donatello's patience. "You've got to be kidding me…." the frustrated turtle grumbled, pulling off his lab goggles. "MIKEY!"

"NOT ME!" Michelangelo shouted back defensively.

"I'M SORRY! I THOUGHT IT WAS THE REMOTE!" Leo's voice surprised everyone over the piercing sirens.

Donnie shook his head and inhaled deeply.

**_[Thirty minutes later]_**

_ERNG! ERNG! ERNG! EEEEERNG!_ The alarms went off abruptly; this time causing Donnie to spill coffee all over his blueprints. "OH COME ON!" Donnie growled, as he flung his door open.

"I am sorry, my son…" Splinter said with guilt-ridden eyes darting back and forth between the TV and the security controller in his hand. "It was time for my shows, but..."

"It's alright, Sensei…" Donnie replied, failing to mask his exasperation. Crouching down to reset the wires lining the walls and the floor, he said matter-of-factly, "I'm going topside for a quick break after this. Just need some fresh air."

Splinter nodded sympathetically and watched as his second eldest son took out a sharpie and scrawl the word 'SECURITY' one device and 'TV' on the other. "There. I'll physically alter the design of the controllers tomorrow," he added. "And don't worry -I won't be out too late."

"Be safe, Donatello," Splinter called out, as he watched his exhausted son grab his bo staff and duffle bag before exiting the lair.

* * *

After a couple hours of roaming around the city via rooftops and shadows, Donnie had visited some of his favorite spots –large window displays at the local electronic stores, various alleys and dumpsters where great mechanical and electronic devices could usually be salvaged, and finally, the natural history museum. Perched over the transparent glass ceiling of the museum, Donnie enjoyed the aerial view of the dimly lit exhibits. Visiting hours were long over, and all the museum staff had all gone home, but this was Donnie's kind of zen. He breathed in deeply, enjoying the nighttime chill and clearing his head of all the stresses that he had endured today. Checking the time on his shell cell, he expelled a small sigh as he prepared to make his way home.

Suddenly, a loud clang and the sound of a woman's piercing scream cut through his peace. Out of instinct, he reached for his bo staff and scanned the area for the source of the unsettling noise. He soon located a nearby alley where a young woman appeared to have fallen, disturbing a pile of metal trash cans. Around her, a group of thugs circled menacingly. "P-please don't hurt me," the woman begged as she tried to scramble up off the ground. "I've got kids…"

Donatello leapt from the rooftops and landed on the ledge of the wall flanking the alley. Up close, he saw that the thugs were clearly marked with Purple Dragon tattoos and dressed in Dragon colors. Gritting his teeth, he prepared to jump into the mix when instantly, a small figure dressed in black traditional ninja garb and an olive green utility vest, beat him to it.

Coming from what seemed like out of nowhere, the mysterious ninja gracefully landed between the fallen woman and the approaching Dragons. Then a female voice sternly projected from the figure, "One more step, and you will all regret this."

Donatello froze as he watched on. _Who the shell is this….?_

The gangsters erupted in an uproarious laughter. "What's this?! Looks like we got another lady who wants to join the party," one of the thugs sneered. "Look at her outfit, man. You training to join the Foot Clan, honey? Why don't you take off that mask, and show us your pretty little face!"Another jeered.

Two swift kicks to the chest sent the thug and his counterpart flying into the brick wall with an audible crash.

"I'm not with those sorry excuses for ninja, and how about I rip your face off if you take another step?" the kunoichi asserted before turning to the battered woman in the corner. "You! Get out of here _now _and get some help." Obeying without hesitation, the woman ran for her life and disappeared into the streets.

"You fucking bitch!" spat a Dragon pulling out two butterfly knives. "You're gonna to pay for that!"

The ninja flipped over the thug with impressive agility and struck him in the back of the head. Meanwhile, from the corner of his eye, Donatello noticed another Dragon pull out a gun and aim it at her_._

Leaping down into the alley, the purple clad turtle's bo staff smacked the gun out of the Dragon's hand, and a large green foot delivered a swift kick to the thug's ugly mug. "Watch out!" he called to the kunoichi. "They have guns!"

"I have it under control!" she retorted, tossing a flailing punk into a nearby dumpster. She spun around to see who had assisted her in this fight, when the unexpected sight that met her eyes left her eyes wide open and mouth agape. There it was… a 6 foot tall, giant turtle with some of the most muscular arms and legs she had ever seen. It appeared and sounded male, and he was demonstrating some very advanced bojutsu skills while….carrying a duffle bag? Was this a hallucination?

"It's one of 'em turtle freaks!" One of the Dragons cried out.

Nope not a dream.

Donatello knocked out the last Dragon on his end, and turned around to see two large, emerald green eyes peering out in shock from behind a traditional black ninja mask. The kunoichi gasped as Donatello sent his bo staff flying an inch past her face to jab one last Dragon who popped up behind her.

"Are you okay?" Donatello couldn't extinguish the smirk that crept up on his face, as the kunoichi looked at the goon sprawled on the floor and back at him.

_He's acting smug?!_ she thought to herself. Narrowing her eyes and refocusing on the turtle, she nodded. "What? Er…who are you?"

Donatello found it difficult to look away from her striking gaze. The color of her eyes was distracting him as they seemed to glow through the shadows. "I…" Donatello began to speak, but didn't quite get to finish before he heard a loud popping sound and felt a hot, searing pain explode in his right leg.

"SHIT!" He swore, as he lost his balance. Of course it had to be a bullet - from the gun that _he_ had warned _her_ about. He felt a swish of wind blow by, as the green-eyed girl leapt over him, artfully dodge another blast from the gun, and knock the goon out with a swift strike to the side of his head.

"Time to get out of here," she said dropping the slumping Purple Dragon to the ground. "These gunshots will draw attention to the police or other members of their little gang."

"Just one problem," Donnie grimaced as he motioned to his bloodied leg.

The kunoichi sighed. This strange, enormous turtle had indeed helped her in the fight, and it would not have been right to abandon him there. Plus, her natural curiosity always seemed to get the best of her. How could she witness something like this and leave without any answers? "If you come with me, I can get you somewhere safe," she said slowly as she approached him to help him up.

Donnie shifted his weight against her to stand up, but did not move further yet. He didn't even know her name or who she could possibly work for. Yet he recognized that his current options were very limited. All the evidence seemed to indicate that she would cause him no harm. First, she had defended a helpless woman from the Purple Dragons. Second, she had explicitly stated that she was not a part of the Foot Clan, and even expressed disdain for them. Third (and most importantly), her fighting style also supported this claim. Her taijutsu was much quicker, stronger, and more complex than any of the moves he'd ever witnessed from the Foot. He didn't even recognize some of her initial moves and techniques.

In the distance, they began to hear the police sirens approach closer. The woman who escaped earlier must have called the police, and now they were coming to investigate the scene.

"Are you done thinking?" the nameless kunoichi asked impatiently. "You want to get out of here or not?"

Donnie tensed as he made his final decision. "Alright, let's move."

"Good. Hold on tight!" she exclaimed.

"What?!"

Reaching into her vest, the kunoichi pulled out a device that looked like something between a retractable grappling hook and a mechanical harpoon. With the click of a trigger, she shot the hook over a rooftop, grabbed Donatello tightly against her body, and they started zipping up the side of the building at an incredible speed.

"Neat, huh?" She said, eyes twinkling inches away from Donatello's stunned expression. "I built it myself!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

* * *

**CHAPTER 2**

The night was getting stranger and stranger for Donatello. He had just wanted to go topside for some respite, but now he found himself limping across an abandoned warehouse with a bullet in his thigh and a female ninja as a crutch. He was certainly learning many new things tonight. For example, he learned that he should pay more attention to his enemies during a fight, instead of a mesmerizing set of eyes. He also learned the owner of those eyes had a name –Aya.

Aya was incredibly resourceful and freakishly strong. Every time they had to scale a new building or hop across a rooftop, she seemed to be able to produce some sort of gadget to do the trick. That vest was like a magic hat, and it seemed like she had designed and built everything that came out of it. Donatello was definitely intrigued. More captivating in fact, was Aya's upbeat personality. Even though she had been bearing the burden of his weight while zipping up buildings and helping him hobble over rooftops, they had managed to introduce themselves, and she even had the energy to chuckle upon hearing his name.

"But my friends call me Donnie," he interjected at the sound of her laughter.

"Sure, Donnie." she smiled through her mask. Feeling bad for all the pain he was enduring, she added, "Thanks for the help back there."

"No problem." Donnie winced as the pounding in his leg began to burn a little bit. "This is far enough though. You can just put me down here. I'll call someone to come get me."

Aya frowned at the amount of blood oozing down Donatello's thigh, dripping off his two large toes. "That's fine, but we need to get that bullet out and seal your wound before you lose too much blood."

She propped him up against a wall, and moved his good leg aside. Settling between both his legs to get a closer look at the injury in his inner thigh, she pulled a small knife and a lighter from her vest. If it wasn't for the excruciating pain radiating from the damage, Donatello would have been blushing at this incredibly awkward position.

Aya pressed her fingers around the side of the wound, and Donnie responded with a tortured hiss. "Yep, it's really in there..." she noted, holding up her knife. "I'm going to have to dig it out, and it's not going to feel very good. Sorry…"

"It's okay," Donnie exhaled. "Let's just get this over with."

Slowly Aya parted the wound with two fingers as she inserted the knife into the flesh, carefully avoiding any veins. Donatello's eyes snapped shut and his brow furrowed deeply. He tried to concentrate on his breathing as the throbbing increased.

"Almost….almost there," Aya said as calmly as possible. *Ting!* The tip of her knife hit a metal object. "Found it. You ready?"

Donnie nodded with beads of sweat forming visibly on his olive green head. With a skilled twist of the knife, Aya extracted the bullet. Donnie released a deep growl, and she quickly lit her lighter and held it under the knife's blade. More blood started to pool around the turtle's leg, and she knew she had to seal off the wound quickly. "Just one last part," she announced before gripping down his leg with one hand and pressing the burning blade over his wound with the other.

"Aaa…aaaa….AAAAH!"

"Shhhh…I know , I know, I know….sorry, sorry, sorry!" Aya repeated the words until she was certain the wound had properly cauterized. "There!"

Donnie suddenly felt very light-headed. He couldn't process if it was from the blood loss or the pain. With half-lidded eyes, he felt her brush her hand across his damp forehead and smile gently, "Sorry about that. You did so well though." He didn't know why, but he felt a blush start to rise to his cheeks. Maybe it was the proximity of her face to his. The weird position they were sitting in. Or the fact that he was embarrassed that he couldn't contain his scream.

He watched as Aya dug through the other pockets of her vest. "Shit, where is it?" he heard her whisper to herself. She stole a glance at his exhausted expression and made a decision. Pulling off her ninja mask, a thick black braid was released and landed softly across her shoulder. Aya had slightly flushed cheeks against her pale skin, and she looked a little nervous as she began to tear her mask it into a long piece of black fabric. "Of all the days to run out of bandages," she said half-jokingly.

"I thought you had everything in there." Donnie weakly smiled.

"…..Not everything," her face dimmed a bit as she began to wrap up his thigh up, seemingly lost in some unknown thought.

"So, you're a ninja…in New York…but you're not involved with the Foot?" Donatello finally asked.

"You know about the Foot too?"

"Of course. You're not the only ninja around here that finds them less than honorable."

"What do you know about the Foot?" Aya pressed on, trying not to sound too eager.

Donnie gave her an odd look as he noticed her eyes searching his face, almost as if she was reading him with her eyes. He also noticed that she didn't answer his initial question. _Why was she so interested in the Foot?_ "You didn't answer my first question," he repeated.

Aya looked deeply into Donatello's chocolate brown eyes and began to feel a little frustrated. She was honing her chakra to enhance her senses in attempts read his energy for any signs of maliciousness or bad intent, but instead she just felt suddenly warm and unfocused. "You didn't answer MY first question," she retorted.

"When?!"

"Back in the alley! Who…or what are you? Where did you come from? Who trained you in ninjutsu?!" The words spilled from her mouth in rapid succession.

Donnie couldn't help but to chuckle. It was obvious now that she was definitely not with the Foot, an organization that had files upon files on him and his brothers. It was also clear that they were both extremely curious about each other, but given that they were both ninja, neither wanted to make the first move to divulge more information about themselves.

"How about this," Donnie propositioned. "I'll tell you where I'm from, what I am, and how I know ninjutsu, if you tell me why you're so interested in the Foot. "

Aya's gaze was set on his again. He felt like she was delving into his core. "Deal," she said finally.

Donnie proceeded to give her a brief overview of his origins story – the spilled mutagen, the transformation, the enhanced abilities, and a short description of his sensei as very gifted mutated rat. He didn't tell her anything that the Foot wouldn't have already known. "Your turn," he prompted.

Aya hesitated, still trying to absorb the outrageous story Donatello had just related to her. She took a deep breath and began her story with carefully selected words, "I am interested in knowing more about the Foot because they took someone very dear away from me. They plan to use this person as a means to harm innocent people, and that's why I'm here in New York -I was sent on a mission here to find her. I had arrived only two weeks ago and began following the Foot to try to locate her. I sensed her presence at their headquarters, but I needed to watch them longer to develop a plan of attack. I was actually on my way there tonight, before I heard that woman get attacked by those Purple Dragons."

Donnie raised an eye ridge. "So the Foot kidnapped your friend?"

"Yes," Aya responded solemnly. "Friend and teammate to be exact. She's like a sister to me." She reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked to be a small, flat piece of clear glass with rounded titanium edges. With a few quick swipes of her finger, a photo of a young woman appeared on the glass screen.

"This is Rei. Maybe you have seen her?"

Donatello examined the picture carefully. The young woman appeared to be the same age as Aya, perhaps around her mid twenties. She had thick, long, dark brown hair that fell straight down. Most interesting of all, were her extremely light grey pupils. They were so light in color, that they were almost shocking to see.

"Is she blind?"

Aya gave a small bitter laugh, "No. She's definitely not blind. Her eyes are actually one of the main reasons why the Foot was interested in her. It's a long story…"

"I'm sorry, Aya. I don't recognize Rei, but I think I know some people who may be of help if you want to give us the long story." Donnie reached into his duffle and extracted his shell cell. "I need to tell them to come pick me up anyway." He gave her a gentle smile and patted one of her hands resting in her lap.

Aya felt that odd calming, but unfocused sensation again. She nodded, folding her other hand over his much larger green one.

Donnie felt warm spread across his cheeks, and cleared his throat before speaking into his shell cell, "Hey, it's me."

On screen another giant turtle with a blue bandana appeared. "Donnie! Do you know what time it is? Sensei's been worried sick! Where are you?!"

"Don't freak out, but I had a little accident, and I need you guys to come pick me up."

"Accident? What kind of accident? Are you okay?"

"I said don't freak out, Leo. I'm fine. I mean, I was shot …

"SHOT?!"

"But just _in the leg_, and I'm fine now. I'll text you the map to my location, and you guys can come pick me up?"

"Yes, of course. Just stay put, and don't move!"

"Couldn't if I wanted to, bro." Donnie grinned. "I also have someone here that could use our help, if you don't mind."

"What?"

"Just come here, and I'll explain."

Leo's eye ridges creased the way they usually did when he was very concerned. "Alright, we'll be right there soon."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

Aya couldn't believe she was sitting in an abandoned warehouse with not one, but FOUR giant humanoid turtles -three of which were clearly scrutinizing her carefully. Leonardo spoke slowly, trying to comprehend the story Aya just told them, "So you're a part of a team of kunoichi, sent here from Japan, to find your missing teammate...that the Foot has kidnapped because she has...special powers?"

"Like a SUPERHERO!" interjected Michelangelo enthusiastically, earning a whap to the head from Raph. "Shush, Mikey. Adults are talkin' here."

"No, not like superheroes," Aya said to Mikey with a gentle smile. "We're a specialized team of kunoichi who have been trained in ancient and highly protected forms of ninjutsu. What you call 'super powers,' we call advanced chakra control and manipulation. We've dedicated our lives to studying these techniques in hidden academies. When are assigned to a team from childhood, matched based on how each of our natural talents and skills complement each other."

Raph was now looking at the photo of Rei on Aya's communication device. "We never seen your friend before, but what does the Foot want with these freaky eyes?" Leo immediately shot Raph a dirty look.

"Rei possesses _byakugan_," Aya explained. "When she pushes all of her chakra into these so-called 'freaky' eyes, she has almost 360 degree peripheral vision and the ability to see up to 10 miles away. She can zoom in on a small insect or zoom out to view the world like a map. But more impressively, she can see internal chakra flow. This means her fighting style is based on pressure points. With byakugan, she knows where to strike an opponent to stop their chakra flow -temporarily disable them or at worse, causing severe internal damage upon contact."

"Fascinating...,"breathed Donatello.

"Whoa...," said Mikey at the same time.

"Whoa is right," Aya continued. "So you can see why byakugan is an extremely coveted jutsu. Some ninja have gone as far as to obtain the use of byakugan by force. Some ninja would place cursed seals on objects or the byakugan user to get them to do their bidding."

"We've seen that before," Leo mentioned. "When the Shredder had the Sword of Tengu, these ninja called the Foot Mystics were forced to obey him. And they had special abilities too, like controlling natural elements - earth, fire, water, air..."

Aya nodded. "Yes. That sounds about right. Or if a cursed seal can't be properly executed, some deviants have been known to forcibly remove the eyes of a byakugan user and surgically transplant them into themselves."

"Gross!" Mikey squirmed in his seat. "You don't think that's why they took your friend, do you?" The youngest turtle looked genuinely worried.

"It's possible.." Aya said grimly, pulling her knees towards her chest.

"But if Rei is as powerful as you said," Donatello thought aloud. "How would the Foot -who we've been beating for years -capture her like that? Couldn't she have escaped by now?"

"That's the part I can't figure out," Aya hung her head and stared at the tops of knees blankly. " Rei went missing when we were still in Japan. She was on a solitary mission, and she never came back. Distress messages were sent, but by the time we got there, she was gone. There was evidence that the Tokyo branch of the Foot had been at the scene too, and we've managed to track her to New York...but now we're at a dead end."

"Well, we have had much experience fighting the Foot, and I have collected a lot of information on their headquarters over the years. If you think it would help," Donatello followed up quickly. "Maybe we can work together on this to find Rei?" He didn't like seeing Aya become so distressed. She was so kind when she helped him; he wanted to help her too.

"Really?" Aya looked up hopefully at the olive green turtle, clasping both of her hands on one of his massive forearms. "I would be eternally grateful!"

"Y-yea, of course." Donatello sounding a little more nervous than he wanted to.

"Not so fast," Leo interjected. "We have to get Donnie home. We've been out long enough. Sensei will be worried. Plus, Donnie needs to rest and get that leg healed."

Raph chuckled. "Leo doesn't like bein' up past his bedtime."

Aya twisted her braid in her hands, a nervous habit. "You should probably tell your sensei where you are, but if you want his leg to heal quicker, I know someone who can help..."

"Oh, it's okay," Donnie assured her. "I have plenty of medical supplies back in my lab, and I'm usually the doctor in my family so I know how to take care of myself. I should be back in shape in no time. We turtles have an incredible healing ability -side effects of the mutagen."

"So you can heal instantly too?" She asked.

"Well, no of course not, but..."

"Kazu can heal you now," Aya insisted. "She's one of my other teammates. She's the medic of our team. I mean...no pressure obviously, but if you wanted to heal quicker and by chance, help us sooner...It would be..." Aya stopped, worried that she would push them away if she kept pressing on. But what was she to do? She was getting desperate to find Rei, and she was losing sleep every night over it. The tension between her team was growing without their leader missing, and now having just exposed all her fears so openly to a group of strangers, let alone giant turtles, she felt even more worried and vulnerable. She tried to compose herself.

Donnie looked at Aya. Seeing her so visibly distraught made the inside of his chest feel inexplicably strained. He really wanted to go with her, but what was she talking about? Instant healing? It seemed like a long shot, but he was also very curious. "Is that her ability? Like how Rei has the... er...bya...kugan?"

Aya nodded quickly. 'Yes, Kazu is our medical-nin. Every team has one. She uses chakra from her body to heal other's wounds."

"Well dis I gotta see..." Raph smirked, as Leo shot him another disapproving look. "What, Leo?! You tellin' me you don't wanna check this out?" Raph snapped. We been out here all night talkin' 'bout chakras and creepy eyes seein' miles away and into your body. Don't tell me you don't wanna see if it's all true or jus a buncha bullcrap?"

"I don't know," Leo started.

"C'mon, Leo. Pleeaaaase?" Mikey chimed in. "She really needs our help. And if her friend can help Donnie get better faster, then it's a win for us too!"

Leo looked back and forth between Donnie and Aya, who was now adjusting the bandage on his thigh and helping him stand. Leo didn't sense anything off about Aya's energy, but he was still concerned. They had just met her tonight, and there was so much information to process.

Raph glanced at his older brother, "Listen Leo, I know you're worryin' 'bout this, but you and I both know that wheneva the Foot are involved, it ain't good. We could be savin' a life here. You were just sayin' the otha day how weird it was dat the Foot have been so quiet. Almost too quiet? C'mon...can't hurt to check dis out. If there's any funny business, you know I'm always ready for action."

Leo sighed. Raph was right, he wouldn't be able to bear knowing that he didn't save an innocent life when he had the chance. He could also see that Aya had taken good care of Donnie when he was hurt. If she really wanted to cause harm, she would have done so by now, but instead, he had shown Donnie genuine concern and kindness.

"Fine," Leo finally announced. "Let's get Donnie to your medic."

Kazu was sinking into her big, soft brown couch with a bottle of sake in one hand and TV remote in the other. She kicked her feet over the coffee table and slowly flipped through the channels, half-watching. _Ugh. Too many fucking reality shows_, she thought to herself as she finally turned the TV off. Where was her teammate/roommate? She had announced that she was going out for a few hours to do some surveillance on the Foot, but it was getting ridiculously late, even for Aya. Kazu stood up and stretched her arms over her head as she sauntered towards the full length windows lining the living room of their apartment. Her eyes searched across the skyline, hoping to see Aya's silhouette bouncing towards the apartment. She tousled her long auburn hair and took another swig from the bottle. Nothing. She couldn't see a thing. It was times like these that she wished Rei was around to tell her where Aya was exactly, but the thought of Rei simply reminded her of what they were doing here in New York in the first place.

"Ishiiiiiii!" she called towards to the kitchen, "Have you heard from Aya yet?"

"Nooo, I haven't," a sweet and gentle voice replied. "I'm starting to get kinda worried, ya know?" A petite girl popped her frowning face through the doorway, pink hair tied up in a messy ballerina bun.

"Yea, I know," Kazu replied, twitching her nose. "I can smell all that nervous baking."

"Sorry..." Ishi apologized, acknowledging Kazu's super sensitive sense of smell. "I tried not to go overboard this time."

"What is it this time? …..No, wait. Lemme guess...two dark forest cakes, 3 dozen white chocolate chip cookies, and is that a banana cream pie?"

"Yes!" Ishi replied cheerily, tightening her apron knot around her waist. "Wow, Kaz, you're getting really good at this!"

"Eh. Can't help it," her sniffing roommate replied. "At least it smells good, and you didn't burn anything. You know how I get when it's burnt."

Ishi nodded sympathetically. Kazu was not only the team's medical-nin, but an expert tracker. It was only with her talents that the team was able to track Rei to New York City. Kazu's sense of smell, like Rei's byakugan, was inherited from the bloodline of an ancient ninja clan who developed and practiced ninjutsu by raising packs of wolves and fighting alongside with them. After centuries of developing chakra honing techniques to mimic the skills of their canine companions, the more advanced ninja began taking on attributes of the wolves themselves. After a few more centuries of perfected techniques, Kazu's clan regularly produced ninja who possessed an extremely heightened sense of smell, sharpened canines, incredible speed and agility, and an animalistic fighting style that was wildly effective and unpredictable.

Unfortunately, the downside to Kazu's exceptional sense of smell was also her sensitivity to offensive odors. Certain odors could be particularly disabling. Upon arriving in New York City, Kazu tracked Rei to the Foot Headquarters, but then lost her immediately when a strange, overpowering, and unidentifiable stench emitted from the building. To this day, Kazu can't figure out what it was, and why it remains surrounding the area. After multiple trips back to the headquarters, Kazu realized her skills were disabled by the stench. It was almost as if they knew she was there and knew her weakness.

The vibrating of her phone in her pocket snapped Kazu out of this painful memory. She looked down at the device and saw a text from Aya.

[Hi Kaz. On my way home. Bringing friends over. Can help us find Rei. One is hurt. Pls help.]

Kazu stared curiously at the screen. "Hey Ish...I think we may have some company...Aya's bringing over some friends."  
"Oh yea!?" Ishi replied with a big smile as she watched her new batch of cupcakes rise in the oven. "I'm so glad she's safe!" She exhaled loudly and then promptly inhaled deeply "MMMMMM...red velvet..."

Kazu started to sniff around, but the overpowering smell of Ishi's baking was too distracting. After a few more minutes, she could faintly make out Aya's scent, but it was masked mostly by the scent of various males...or were they reptiles? Wait...turtles? No, that doesn't make any sense. It must be all of Ishi's baked goods getting in the way. She could definitely smell male scents now. They were getting closer, and one of them smelled particularly nice too. _God, I hope he's cute. _Kazu chuckled to herself as she put down her bottle of sake. _There's too much freaking estrogen in this apartment._

Soon muffled voices could be heard outside. Kazu could make out Aya whispering quickly and a bunch of male voices hushed around hers. Slinking over to the door, Kazu adjusted the straps of her black tank top and ran her fingers over her auburn locks before throwing the door open while flashing her best seductive smile. "Hey boys..." she began before she completely froze.

Aya started shoving four gigantic mutant turtles through the doorway. "Get in before someone sees you!"

Everyone remained silent, staring at each other until the sound of a ceramic plate, piled with perfectly iced cupcakes, crashed to the hardwood floor. Ishi had just walked into the living room and froze like Kaz had.

"OH NO, CUPCAKES!" Mikey gasped.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

* * *

**CHAPTER 4**

Ishi went through the motions of hanging up wet dish towels used to clean up the cupcake mess while focusing on Aya who was perched on a bar stool, staring at the turtles, who were watching Kazu heal Donatello's leg with her medical ninjutsu. Palms flat and facing the injury, a blue aura emitted from Kazu's hands and enveloped the wounded area. Ishi smiled as the turtles made sounds of intrigue and wonder at Kazu's amazing display of her skills. Kazu's skills were never short of awe-inspiring to those who had never been exposed to their world of ninjutsu. The one who introduced himself as Michelangelo, or Mikey as he preferred to be called, was the most notably expressive of his amazement. Ishi also noted that he was also the only one of the brothers who volunteered to help her clean up all the spilled cupcakes…while licking all the frosting that he had managed to "accidently" get on himself in the process.

Turning back to face her friend deep in thought, Ishi nudged Aya softly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just thinking." Aya shook her head.

"About what?"

Aya sighed. Ishi always knew when something was troubling her. "I just hope I'm making the right decision. Inviting these strange guys into our home, revealing our world of highly specialized ninjutsu to them, relying on their information about the Foot...and all of this in such a rush... I just hope it will bring Rei home and not turn out to be an act of desperation that gets us into more trouble."

Ishi nodded. "I know this is so…weird… and happening so fast, Aya, but your instincts have never led us astray. Your ability to read chakra and energy is a gift, and you said you felt no sense of darkness about their chakras, right?"

Aya nodded, remembering only the strange warmth she felt when trying to read Donatello's chakra energy.

"You know I'm 100% behind you, Aya. And so is Kaz…she wouldn't be helping those guys right now if she wasn't."

"Thanks, Ish. I just hope I won't let you guys down…" Aya said looking up into her supportive teammate's face.

"ALL DONE!" shouted Kazu as she clapped her hands together, blue aura disappearing upon contact. "Go ahead, stand up and give it a try."

Tentatively Donatello stood and shifted some of his weight onto his injured leg…or as he now noticed, his _formerly_ injured leg. He was soon hopping up and down on that leg, jumping up to do a high kick, and landing low to do a leg sweep with no problems at all. "Incredible!" he marveled aloud.

"That is INSANE," Mikey stepped closer to Donnie, prodding his brother's leg with one of his nunchucks. "Doesn't hurt at all?"

"Nope, not a bit" the purple clad turtle confirmed before turning to Kazu. "How did you do that?!"

"Chakra manipulation," Kaz explained with a large smile, flashing her sharp canines. "As ninja yourselves, you should know how to control your chakra energy, right?"

Leo nodded in agreement. "Of course. It's an effective way to release energy in ways to strengthen your attacks or control it to preserve energy as well. Our sensei has incorporated chakra control and meditation regularly in our training."

"Right." Kaz continued. "So this is just an advanced form. I didn't go through all those years of medical ninjutsu training at the academy for nothing. I had to learn how to control my chakra energy internally and also externally, moving my chakra from within my own body to another's, facilitating the rapid healing of cells and muscles using both the other person's energy and my own. But it's not easy, boys. Depending on the condition of the injury and the patient, it could really drain me to heal someone completely. Luckily, your brother here had a pretty minor injury and had pretty big reserve of chakra, so I didn't even have to break a sweat!" Kaz flashed another toothy grin as she unscrewed the cap of her sake bottle.

"Wicked…" Raph smirked, using an elbow to roughly nudge Leo's side. "Dat was totally worth the trip, right?"

Leo rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Yes, thank you Miss Kazu for helping my brother."

"Please, call me Kaz," she said as she took another swig from her bottle.

"Well, Kaz…your skills are most impressive, and I think we have a lot to learn about your ninjutsu academy training and the ninja teams in your society that Aya has been telling us about." Leo acknowledged.

"Yes," Aya stepped in. "But that can wait. Now that we've delivered what we promised, can we get to work on finding Rei?"

"Yes, yes!" Donatello responded. "I just need to collect the data I have on the Foot and we can brainstorm a plan together using both our teams' strengths and skills. I can probably compile the information you need in a few hours, put it on a thumb drive, and bring it back."

"And we also need to get Master Splinter's blessing to do this." Leo emphasized sternly.

"Which shouldn't be a problem." Donatello finished a little too quickly, causing his brothers raise their eye ridges. "We'll be back tomorrow night."

Aya smiled warmly and gave Donatello's shoulder a small squeeze. "Thank you. You don't know what this means to me…" Looking at Leo she added, "And I hope your sensei is alright with you helping us."

Leo nodded politely in response.

After an exchange of numbers, which Donatello insisted on for the sole purpose of keeping in contact about their plans to find Rei, the turtles jumped out an apartment window, up the fire escape, and disappeared into the night.

"Boy, I really hope they really do come back and help us…" Ishi sighed as she untied her apron.

"I'll track 'em if they don't." A now red-faced Kaz slurred from the couch.

"You got their scent memorized?" Aya asked as she pried the bottle from Kaz's claws.

"Ooooooh yeah…" Kaz chuckled to herself as Aya and Ishi exchanged confused looks.

...

_**Meanwhile…**_

Karai narrowed her eyes as she focused on the complex scroll unrolled before her. Her hands clumsily attempted to mimc the complex hand symbols displayed in the text as she muttered the incantations written next to each symbol.

Next to her, a young woman dressed in a tattered white kimono and a white headband was bound by her arms and legs against a steel operation table. Her dark chestnut hair was wildly splayed across her gaunt face and shoulders, while her light grey pupils remained motionless aside from the occasional blink. An IV bag dripped a clear liquid into her wrist and a constellation of acupuncture needles lined her temples in a horrific display.

"CURSES!" Karai bellowed suddenly as she slammed both fists into her desk. "Why isn't this working?! You said this would work! How am I to have the byakugan at my disposal if I cannot inflict a Cursed Seal on her?!"

Across the room a smile emerged from a dark silhouette of a tall, male figure. "You wanted the _byakugan_ at your disposal, and I delivered a highly skilled byakugan user _and_ a forbidden scroll revealing the secrets of _juinjutsu_, the Cursed Seal Technique. All you have to do is perform the juinjutsu technique, and Rei's mind, body and byakugan will be yours to control. This is what you paid for, and this is what I delivered. It's not my fault that you do not possess the natural ninjutsu talents necessary perform a proper Cursed Seal Technique."

Karai gritted her teeth and spoke slowly. "I am the daughter of the mighty Shredder. I have always been the most gifted at ninjutsu, and that has been undisputed. What I can do, I do extremely well. And what I cannot do, I can pay well to have done. Do you understand, Tatsu?"

The man named Tatsu snickered and uncloaked himself from the shadows. Standing tall with long forest green hair tied into a low pony tail, Tatsu wore a black kimono that opened slightly at the front, revealing a maze of raised scars that marred what looked to once be an emerald colored dragon tattoo across his chest. "If you mean to imply that you will pay me to perform the Cursed Seal Technique, Mistress Karai, then I've got terrible news for you." Tatsu shot her a mocking smile. "You see, I am just a simple merchant who deals in black market jutsu. I am not the great Shredder's daughter, as gifted in ninjutsu as you are. Trust me. I've tried to perform the Cursed Seal Technique on many of my…products, but unfortunately to no avail. And even if I could, the jutsu can only be controlled by the person who executes the Cursed Seal, so that wouldn't help you at all, now would it?"

Karai clenched her fists and walked over to the motionless Rei, and stared down in to the strange pupils…so light in color that from afar, her eyes almost seemed pupil-less. Below, only the sound of Rei's shallow breathing and occasional blink indicated that she was even still alive. Karai observed the motionless girl and furrowed her brows in frustration. Since the death of her father, the Shredder, the Foot Clan had been reduced to what her last client had so aptly dubbed "hired guns." The words stung because Karai knew they rang with truth.

Under Karai's rule, the Foot was falling out of power fast, especially with the turtles growing much stronger and more cohesive as the years went by, taking out the Foot's best soldiers and teams. Karai so desperately wanted to restore the Foot to their former formidability, as it was under the Shredder's leadership. She couldn't disgrace her father's name. She wouldn't. So when the Tokyo branch of the Foot had discovered the hidden universe of elite ninja who had bloodline jutsu, who trained in hidden academies established for centuries, and harnessed incredible powers and secrets, she knew this was her chance.

Karai was familiar with the Foot Mystic, a group of ninja that her father once controlled with the Sword of Tengu. The Foot Mystic could control the elements and performed jutsu unparallel to those that she'd ever seen. For the longest time, Karai believed that the Foot Mystic were the exception to ninja. She did not know that an entire society of such ninja existed, with many who could control chakra in ways to manipulate the elements and all other kinds of internal and external energy sources. And they too, like the Foot Mystic, could be controlled to serve masters through the art of juinjutsu, Cursed Seal Techniques. However, instead of cursing a sword, which could be stolen by anyone to control the ninjutsu user, Karai had decided to purchase a scroll that could seal a victim directly by the master, leaving a mark of ownership that could control both the victim's mind and body and inflict disabling pain if the victim disobeyed.

What had been legend was now tangible and obtainable. And Karai had been so thrilled initially when the Toyko branch introduced her to Tatsu, a disgraced ninja from that legendary universe who now handled black market jutsu – trading jutsu in the form of body parts or forbidden scrolls to common ninja and organized crime for high dollar amounts.

After receiving the captured byakugan user and the forbidden juinjutsu scroll, Karai was quick to start the process to gain control of Rei, but as weeks went by, her attempts at deciphering the scroll and practicing the hand forms, incantations, and movements produced zero results. She couldn't even get a fleck on Rei, let alone an entire cursed seal branded into her pale skin. Karai grimaced as she repeated Tatsu's words in her head. Was she as untalented as he suggested? Was she simply not gifted enough to perform the Cursed Seal Technique? Was this all a reflection of her not being good enough as Shredder's one heir? She shook her head to clear them of these heinous thoughts.

"There is the other option that we discussed…" Tatsu approached Karai, interrupting her from her internal conflict. "If you can't perform the technique, I could get you control of the byakugan in other ways…" Tatsu drew a scalpel from his sleeve and moved it slightly from side to side, reflecting light from the lamp directly above the surgical table around the otherwise dark room.

"The surgical implantation of her byakugan into my eyes." Karai repeated emotionlessly.

"Yes…for a price of course..."

"Money is no object, but…" Karai trailed off. She knew that the surgical removal of Rei's eyes would mean the replacement of her own. The idea of having byakugan both excited and terrified Karai. Being able to see miles ahead, through barriers, and through bodies to read chakra flow would mean unfathomable power for her and the Foot Clan. She would have the ability to find the turtles' hideout and to destroy them by locating their individual physical weaknesses to attack with just a simple scan of their bodies. With the all seeing eyes, Karai knew that she would be able to lead the Foot and elevate them from common thievery to highly complex plans that could take down entire institutions and organizations. In other words, the Foot Clan would be unstoppable.

On the flip side, what if she could not control the byakugan, similar to how she had failed to procure a seal? Who would train her in the byakugan fighting style, utilized to destroy opponents by attacking the correct pressure points after locating the chakra flow? She would have to learn this on her own, which meant room for error. Furthermore, what if the surgery did not work? What if she was rendered blind? Tatsu would certainly run away with his hefty cash prize, and that would certainly be the end of the Foot Clan. The option of executing the Cursed Seal and simply controlling Rei both in mind and body seemed so much more appealing. All the benefits without the risks. But if she could not create an effective seal, then Karai knew she would have to admit failure and seriously consider the other alternative.

Karai decided she needed more time to mull this over. "I will try the Cursed Seal Technique for a few more days. If it can't be done, then we will talk about the secondary option."

"But of course….whatever the Mistress wants…." A sinister smile spread across Tatsu's face as he dissolved once again in the shadows.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

* * *

**CHAPTER 5**

After a flurry of text message exchanges with Donatello, Aya learned that Splinter had not only given his blessing, but also told the turtles that he had heard of their society of while he was living in Japan. Like many others before him, Splinter believed this universe to simply be a myth, but with Leonardo's description of Kazu's skills, Rei's gifts, and Aya's background, Splinter felt that this world was turning out to be far from legends.

Aya looked again at her phone and waited for another text. Donatello had promised that he would return with information on the Foot tonight, so to pass the time, she sat cross-legged on her bed sharpening some of her knives and weapons. Back in Japan, she had a proper laboratory and workspace, but since moving to New York to find Rei, her team quickly realized that the combination of ridiculously high rent in New York and their lack of funds prevented them from finding a roomier apartment. Aya knew that it was a blessing in itself that Ish and Kaz were kind enough to give her the master bedroom, knowing that she needed more space to work on her usual projects.

A gentle tapping against her window nearly made Aya jump. Quickly running over, she saw a familiar turtle with a well-worn duffle bag slung across his shoulder, crouching on the fire escape. Unlatching the window to invite him in, Aya could barely contain her excitement. "Hey Donnie! Please come in! Sorry my room is such a mess…"

"Hey Aya," Donnie smiled at her. She looked completely different without her black cat suit and bulky green utility vest. Standing before him, Donnie noticed that Aya looked rather pleasant in just a simple long-sleeve black v-neck and a light blue pair of cotton shorts. He found that her hair was still in a thick, raven braid and green eyes were still as hard to tear away from as the first night they met.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Aya's voice interrupted his thoughts, and he hoped to himself that she hadn't caught him staring.

"Uh…no, thank you. I had just had some coffee before I left." He admitted, as his eyes began to wander over her bedroom. He looked a little confused, noticing that aside from a simple bed in the corner, there was nothing in the room that actually looked like a bedroom. In fact, he was surrounded by a host of finished and unfinished gadgets, devices, tables with flasks and beakers, and a large flat, touch-screen computer. Donnie approached Aya's chemistry table and examined a few chemicals inside various flasks and test tubes. "Is this…all yours?"

"Yes…just little projects here and there…" she smiled politely as she slid over, gently plucking the flasks out of his hands. "Might not want to disturbed those. Paralysis if it gets on your skin..."

"O-oh!" Donatello's eyes widened as he handed over her materials. "I-I'm sorry! That was so rude of me. I don't like it when people touch my workstation either… " He trailed off as his eyes drifted to a funnel of black powder and a pile of neatly stacked shuriken on a metal tray. "What's with the…"

"Explosive shuriken."

"And what's…?"

"Double-headed scythe. Detachable boomerang blades."

"And over there…"

"Jet-pack."

"JET-PACK?!"

"Not ready yet. Just a prototype."

Aya couldn't help but to notice that Donatello's wide-eyed and unbridled curiosity was sort of…cute? _For a giant mutated turtle that is_, she justified to herself. _Wow, my stress and lack of sleep must really be catching up to me. _

"Wait! Donnie, don't spin that!" She had to snap out of it as she noticed Donatello flipping around one of her newer devices like it was a bo staff. "That's my hang glider!"

"What?!" Donnie dropped the "staff" and a set of expansive wings exploded out of its side, knocking over a chair, several stacks of papers and a flask of acid that promptly burned a hole through one of Aya's tables. "AGH! Sorry, sorry! I thought that was just a new metal bo staff!"

"I know, pretty cool, right?" She smiled gleefully at her own invention and then back at the flustered turtle. Then she quickly splashed another bottle of liquid on the spilled acid. "Base." She winked at him and noticed the turtle shift, deep brown eyes looked away in a hurry, while he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Y-yeah…geez Aya…you are…er…I mean this is all so…"

Aya curiously eyed the stuttering turtle and then back around her mess of a room –acid spills, holey furniture, sea of scattered papers, bed strewn with sharpened knives… "Oh God, Donnie… you must think I'm some sort of psycho…"

"No, no!" Donnie jumped in. "That's not what I was trying to say! I think you're…um…your inventions are INCREDIBLE! I mean, I suspected that you were an inventor when you showed me the harpoon gun we used for the getaway, but all this is was not was not what I was expecting! This is so much more…exciting!" He started picking up her blueprints off the floor, examining a few with a toothy grin as he gathered them up.

Aya felt a little thrilled to see someone showing so much interest in her projects. Usually her teammates would leave her alone while she worked. She preferred it that way, but sometimes she wished she had someone ask about her works-in-progress, not just the shiny new finished products that did the "fancy Batman things," as Ish would say.

…

A couple hours later, Aya was sitting in front of a whiteboard scrawled full of formulas, slowly correcting a few variables here and there, while Donnie hunched over her desk, typing away furiously on his laptop. Since helping her clean up the mess that was made upon his arrival, Donnie had brought forth a plethora of information that was most helpful to her mission. He and Aya poured over maps of the Foot Headquarters, details of its security system, hideouts, and exchanged stories about their respective encounters with the enemy. It was through Donatello's stories that Aya learned that he and his brothers had not only many close encounters with the Foot, but also with mad scientists that the Shredder had hired over the years to create abominations and weapons used in attempts to take down the turtles. All of these revealing tales made Aya feel more secure in her choice to trust Donnie. He obviously knew how it felt to have a member of his team and family threatened by the Foot, and how important this mission was to her.

Donnie suddenly stopped typing and spoke from the desk, "Hey Aya? If your theory about the reason behind Rei's kidnapping is correct…to take control her byakugan… Rei would be likely found in the Foot's laboratory. It's here." He tapped a pencil against the map on his screen.

"They have a lab?" Aya asked apprehensively.

"Yes, that's where they had Baxter Stockman and some of the other terrible scientists that I told you about worked. Shredder would monitor them closely to make sure they were executing his awful experiments the way he wanted them to. But now that he's dead, his daughter Karai manages the Foot, and she is just as bad. I have no doubts that the lab still exists and is still in operation."

Aya winced at the sound of Donatello's words, heart sinking into her stomach. "If Rei is there, she's probably…" She crossed her arms over her chest and dug her fingers into her arms.

Donatello saw Aya frown, shoulders trembling slightly…in fear? In anger? He couldn't quite place it. "Hey. Stop. We'll find her," he said earnestly. "We'll bring her back. I promise." Donatello didn't know what possessed him, but following his instincts, he rested his hand on top of hers in comfort.

Aya looked down at the giant, three fingered hand that was giving hers a surprisingly gentle squeeze. She felt the warmness of his energy again and tried to refocus on the task at hand. "Thanks, Donnie…so what's the next step?"

"Well, I'm going to have to update the monitoring program I installed at the Foot Headquarters. The last couple of times my brothers and I had to break in, I planted bugs to remotely monitor their security system. They've had a few upgrades since, so I need to fix a glitch in my program to make sure it's monitoring the updated security system properly. After that, maybe your team and my brothers can train briefly together to see what strengths and weaknesses we're working with to formulate the plan?"

"Sounds good. I can't believe I haven't met you sooner…" Aya sighed.

Donnie tried to suppress a blush, not knowing what to make of Aya's comment. "Huh?"

"Here I was making so many trips to observe the Foot from the outside, when you had access to their internal surveillance the whole time." She finished, throwing her arms up into the air. "Genius."

"Oh, right!" Donnie cleared his throat. "Well, I can't monitor everything within, just some of the floors we've been to recently. Here."

He pulled up his program on his laptop and began running the code. Aya hovered over him as he worked. "This might take a while," he mentioned, throwing her a side glance. Donnie's pet peeve had always been people watching him work. He felt that it did nothing to speed up the process and frankly made him nervous sometimes. Aya was already achieving that without even watching him work, so this was just making it worse. "So you might want to work on something else, while I…"

"Oh there's the problem right there!" Aya exclaimed as she nudged him, pointing at several lines of the code on the screen.

"What? That's not even the portion at issue." Donnie stared at the area on his screen_. Is she trying to backseat program? Is she seriously questioning this? I personally engineered this program! No one knows the language like I do… _Donnie mentally huffed as Aya continued to nudge him harder.

"No, no…all you have to do is delete this part…" she started to hit the buttons on the keyboard.

"HEY! Wait! DON'T do that! You'll mess up the entire program!" Donnie shouted.

"And fix this section…like this…put in this code instead…" her fingers flew over the keyboard. "And _voila_! Problem solved!"

The laptop beeped, and Donatello stared blankly at the program, unsure if he was going to go into cardiac arrest. He reviewed everything on the monitor and his jaw dropped slightly. Aya was right. Her one little edit had saved him hours of work. It was a rare moment when someone could make the brainy turtle feel a little stupid, but this was one such occassion.

"Wow, Aya …that was…right on…You're just full of surprises."

"I don't know what's more surprising," Aya laughed. "A woman who can program or a giant ninja turtle who can hack security systems?"

"Touche." Donnie smiled and picked up his phone. "Ready hit the training room and see how our teams will work together then?"

Aya nodded eagerly and ran to her closet and took out a pair of long black sweat pants to pull over her shorts. "Where are we going though? This apartment is a little small for everyone and your brothers to do any real training in…"

"Already got that covered. Since you've been so kind as to invite us into your home, Master Splinter has extended an invitation for you and your team to come train with us in ours. We have a pretty spacious dojo. Splinter is also pretty eager to witness firsthand some of the ninjutsu skills that we've been telling him about."

"Great!" Aya buckled her utility vest over her v-neck. "Just let me tell Kaz and Ishi to get ready too."

Donnie nodded and sent a text to his brother.

…

"Hey Leo! Where's Donnie?" Raph shouted across the living room as he put extra weights onto either side his barbell.

In the dining area, Leo sipped his green tea without looking up, engrossed in a book about the history of aikido. "He just texted. Said they're on their way."

"Nice." Raph responded with a grunt as he pressed the enormous barbell over his chest. The bar looked as if it would soon bend before his hulking arms would. "I could use some new sparring partners 'round here. I'm sick of bustin' Mikey's head all day long! HA!"

"Whatever, Raph. Let's see you laugh when you get your butt kicked by a bunch of girls later tonight!" Mikey giggled as he sorted through the comic book collection sprawled across the floor.

"Why I oughta…" the crushing thud of the barbell hitting concrete had Mikey on his feet faster than freshly delivered pizza.

"EEEEP!"

"Raphael is right, my sons." Splinter suddenly emerged from his meditation room and ambled slowly between his fighting sons. Raph froze with a rock-like fist in the air, as Mikey stilled in a crouched defensive position against a wall. "We could use some new insight and lessons in our training. These kunoichi sound most interesting. Their skills and knowledge could help you all develop as ninja."

Splinter sat down next to Leo, who began to pour his father a cup of tea. "Do you really think they'll be as powerful as the legends, Master Splinter?"

Splinter stroked his whiskers and looked up thoughtfully. "I cannot be certain, Leonardo. From what I've heard through the years, these ninja have been training in hidden academies since the age of three. Dating back to the ancient times, the purpose of these academies was to develop elite ninja, used by the most powerful shoguns and politicians maintain power, win wars, or sometimes to even keep the peace in feudal Japan. Students were chosen through the bloodlines of the best ninja families. They all had different skills… some inherited, others developed. There are stories about those who could control natural elements –fire, water, wind … and others with incredible healing jutsu like this Miss Kazu that you speak of. Superhuman strength, the ability to see far and wide, ninja who mimic jutsu after only seeing it once, the list goes on. Even I know not the extent of their capabilities. I think it best that we be welcome our guests and keep an open mind. This is a rare opportunity indeed, and we may be able to learn quite a bit."

"Sweet…" Michelangelo sauntered into the kitchen and started rummaging through the fridge. "This is gonna be awesome! I hope Ish brings more of her cupcakes!"

"Idiot," Raph grumbled as he walked into the kitchen, shoving Mikey out of the fridge.

"HEY!"

Raph ignored him and chugged a red sports drink and wiped his mouth with a massive forest green forearm.

Leo ignored his squabbling brothers and nodded. "We will do our best, sensei. We will be prepared for all possibilities, and we won't hold back when we train together."

"Heh. I neva hold back." Raph added with a smirk on his face.

"Gee, I hope not." A female voice slid through the kitchen, quickly followed by its owner - a kunoichi dressed in a black sleeveless top and black skirt with her auburn hair tied into a high pony tail. White athletic bandages were tightly around her waist and down her legs. At her hip sat a green utility belt with various pockets and pouches. Her arms were covered in black, high fingerless gloves that also exposed her palms. "Wouldn't want you to go easy on little ol' us." She batted her eyelashes dramatically and flashed her signature fangs in a playful grin.

"KAZ!" Mikey shouted giddily upon seeing the arrival of their guests.

Raph's eye ridge twitched as Leo cleared his throat and pulled out some chairs. "Hello Kaz, Ishi, Aya…Please come in! Would you all like some tea?"

The two other kunoichi appeared, along with Donatello. Ishi's pink bun flopped to one side as she pulled off a black hood and caplet to smile warmly and greet here hosts. "Tea would be great, Leo! Thank you!"

Donatello made the brief and proper introductions before pouring himself a large mug of black coffee.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Master Splinter." Aya stepped forward hesitantly, trying to not show her surprise at seeing a giant rat in traditional Japanese robes sipping tea at a kitchen table. Donatello had warned them about his sensei's appearance, but seeing him in person was still a little bit shocking. "Thank you for welcoming us into your home." Aya bowed slightly.

Splinter nodded. "You're most welcome, Miss Aya. Please everyone, sit and drink. We have much work to do tonight."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

**A/N:** _Kage bunshin no jutsu_ is a shadow clone technique from the Naruto universe.

* * *

**CHAPTER 6**

"GET OVA HERE!" Raph growled as he threw another punch at Kaz, who artfully dodged the swing by leaping against the dojo wall and flipping over the colossal turtle. "HOW are we suppose to spar if you keep running away?!"

Aya stifled a laugh as she watched the present Raph vs. Kaz training exercise that was taking place in the turtle's lair. She leaned over to Master Splinter who sat cross-legged beside her, witnessing the spar along with the other turtles and Ishi. "So I'm guessing Raph's forte is his incredible strength?" she whispered to the amused rat.

"Ah yes…but unfortunately, his patience and power of observation are still not up to par…" Master Splinter smiled and stroked his beard. After all the introductions had been made and brief back stories exchanged, Splinter had insisted that the kunoichi spar with his sons so that both sides could demonstrate their skills and strengths to help Donatello and Aya formulate the plan to save Rei. Always ready for a good fight, Raph had eagerly volunteered to go first, and Kaz was quick to follow suit. They had been going at it for quite a while – Raph demonstrating incredible skill and strength, but unable to land a single hit on the ever evasive Kaz, who almost flew around the dojo with impressive reflexes and speed.

Sitting on the other side of Aya, Donatello edged closer towards her, "Hey, is Kaz purposefully avoiding Raph because she doesn't specialize in fighting? Just healing as the medic?"

Aya shook her head, "Oh no…Kaz can definitely fight, but you're partially correct. Traditionally, the medic-nin on every team limits his or her battle time with the enemy. Their main job is to heal injured teammates at record speed to get them up and fighting again. If anything happened to the medic-nin, it reduces the chances of the entire team lasting through a long battle. Kaz is used to evading and distracting her opponent to help her and her teammates gain an advantage."

"Ah, I see…" Donatello nodded and made a note of this. He also noticed that his brother began to breathe a little harder. His attacks a little sloppier too.

_Zing!_Raph's sai flew past Aya's face and wedged itself into the wall behind her. "AAARGH!" the frustrated turtle roared as he bent over, huffing slightly.

"Aaaw...Mr. Big Bad Turtle tired?" Kaz teased as she jumped up behind Raph and slammed a high kick down onto his shoulder.

"AUGH!" Raph groaned, but immediately grabbed onto her leg upon contact and swung Kaz into the opposite wall.

Kaz felt her back crack as she smashed into the stone. "Fuck!" Before her body could slip to the ground she suddenly felt a muscular arm and elbow push against her clavicles, pinning her against the wall.

"Not dat tired," a baritone voice vibrated against her ear, sending shivers down her spine. She squirmed and struggled against the weight of his arms without success; Raph was exponentially stronger than her. Kaz couldn't tell if it was because of the workout or the lack of distance between them, but Raph's leathery scent was taking her senses hostage, making her light-headed, blood rushing to her face beneath the red fang-shaped tattoos marking her cheeks. Kaz knew she had to do something quick before she lost focus.

Dipping her head down and opening her mouth, Kaz chomped down as hard as she could into the muscular forearm, sinking her fangs deep into the flesh.

"MOTHER OF FFFFFFFF…!" Raph dropped her body to the ground and grabbed his arm. "She BIT me!" he shouted in total bewilderment.

Kaz rolled through the space between Raph's legs and popped up behind him, grabbed his red bandana tails, pulled his head back and smashed her elbow down into his face. HARD. Raph fell onto his back, stunned, still holding his arm.

"NICE!" Mikey cheered from the sidelines, earning a look of disapproval from Leo.

Back flipping away to gain more distance between her and her opponent, Kaz landed in a fighting stance; her nails protracted into claws and a low growl emitted from her throat. She shook her head, trying to rid the fog that clouded her mind from Raph's scent and natural pheromones.

"Very interesting…" Master Splinter observed.

Raph picked himself off the floor and turned to face the visibly disgruntled kunoichi. "Who da hell BITES in a fight? You're a freakin' ANIMAL!"

"Oh why thank you," Kaz drawled. "You're much too kind..." The words pissed off Raph even more, and he launched himself at her only to find himself backing up suddenly, dodging Kaz's rapidly swiping claws that were brushing just millimeters away from his face. Her reflexes were incredibly quick, and he was having a hard time anticipating her erratic moves.

"Miss Kazu's techniques are indeed rather…animalistic," Master Splinter remarked to Aya.

"Yes, coming from a ninja bloodline that developed their jutsu with giant wolves for centuries would do that." Aya smiled. Watching Kaz fight, even after all these years, never ceased to amaze her. "The red, fang shaped tattoos on her cheeks are marks of the Inuzuka clan. Their lethal canine-based techniques have been perfected for centuries. Inuzukas are not to be trifled with."

"I like her tattoos!" Mikey whispered excitedly to Ishi. "It makes her look just like Princess Mononoke!" Ishi giggled. "I've always told her that, but Kaz hates it. She says Princess Mononoke could never fight like her!" Mikey chuckled and nodded in agreement.

_BOOM! _A loud crash sounded as Raph landed on top of Kaz, the tip of his remaining sai pressed against her neck. He was about to say something snarky to the flushed woman pinned beneath him, when he realized he couldn't speak because a sharp set of claws were wrapped around his neck, digging perilously close to his arteries.

"ENOUGH!" Master Splinter bellowed through the dojo. "We will call this one a draw."

"WHAT?!" Raph barked, jumping up in a rage. "I clearly had her!"

"That was fun, Raphie…we should do it again sometime," Kaz casually stood up and brushed the rubble from the stone walls off her dress. She gave a smile and a wink to the clearly outraged turtle, who swung around to look her with fury burning in his amber eyes. "My face is stingin' like crazy. What did you do it?!"

It was then that everyone bursted into laughter over the sight. As quick as he was, Raph couldn't nearly dodge all of Kaz's swipes, and the tips of her razor sharp claws barely raked over his skin multiple times, making Raph look as if Mikey's cat, Klunk, had just jumped onto his face and scratched the hell out of it.

"It's NOT funny!" Raph hissed as his hands tried to touch around his face.

"Aaaw, it's not so bad," Kaz slinked over to him and cupped both hands against his sore cheeks. He unwillingly flinched at the sight of her claws coming towards his face. "Shhhh…you're still very handsome to me." She teased again, making him swallow uneasily. "Er…"

A blue aura emerged from her palms, and Raph felt heat rise into his face, easing the stinging on his skin. Just as he closed his eyes to give into the soothing sensation, Kaz uncupped his cheeks and turned around to face the group. "There! All better!"

"Astounding," Splinter commented at the sight of Raph rubbing his now smooth face in wonder.

"That's the same thing she did to heal my bullet wound," Donnie commented to Splinter.

Master Splinter nodded, "Very well….Who is next? Miss Ishi? How would you like to spar with my eldest, Leonardo?

"I would love to!" Ishi said happily. "Can I spar with Mikey too?"

"If you can defeat Leonardo. I assure you though, Leonardo alone will offer you quite a challenge."

"Okay!" Ishi nonchalantly shrugged and stepped forward. "I just wanted it to be fair!" Leo and Mikey exchanged quizzical looks and then shrugged as well.

Bowing deeply, Leonardo prepared himself, drawing out his double katana, while Ishi began to form rapid and complex hand symbols, muttering to herself quietly. "Uh…ready, Ish?" Leo asked, raising an eye ridge.

"Oh yes!" Ishi answered with her usual sweet voice and smile. With the final hand symbol executed, the pink-haired kunoichi cried, _"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"_

Large white mushroom clouds of smoke exploded across the dojo floor. Engulfed in smoke, Leo coughed, waving his arms around to clear the air around him. When the smoke finally cleared, he found himself surrounded by 25 kunoichi…all exact replicas of Ishi, smiling ever so sweetly per usual.

Leo slowly exhaled, completely stunned.

"Sorry, Leo!" All of the clones said in unison as they descended upon him. A full on brawl erupted in the center of the dojo. It was 25 to 1 and the movements were happening so fast that it was difficult for anyone to follow.

"Shadow Clone Technique." Aya whispered to Donnie who looked on in awe.

"Are these illusions, Miss Aya?" Master Splinter asked, trying to see what was happening to his eldest within the large crowd of Ishis.

"No, they're actual copies of Ishi. She uses her chakra to create replicas of herself. Each contains a certain amount of chakra taken from the original. They can hit, attack and use all the same techniques just like the original Ishi. They have the same knowledge as her and can internalize the same experiences."

Leo narrowed his eyes and tried to block as many attacks as he could. It was nearly overwhelming. All the Ishis were equally quick and skilled. Finally, he found an opening and took a swipe at one of the Ishis. It dodged, and from behind another attempted to leg sweep him. Leo jumped, only to be met with the strike to the neck from a third Ishi. Grunting, he attacked the offending Ishi with his katana. He managed to land three strikes before it disappeared in an explosive ball of white smoke.

"Since that one was a clone, and each one only has a minimal amount of chakra in it, it dissipates after a few blows. Depending on how many clones Ish decides to make, the level of chakra may vary from each set of clones. If she makes a lot, it spreads her chakra thin, so maybe only one strike will take a clone out. If she makes only a few, it may take several strikes to have any effect." Aya continued to explain.

"What happens if he hits the real, original Ishi?" Donnie questioned.

"Depending on the amount of damage done to the original, the clones may disappear. If there is minor damage, a couple may disappear to revert chakra back to the original owner. If there is severe damage, all of them may disappear. The problem is…it's always very hard to find the original."

Leo dashed about the room, launching himself off the walls, flipping over the clones and skillfully slashing at each opponent. Meanwhile, the twenty or so Ishis that remained were putting up an equally tough fight. Demonstrating advanced taijutsu skills, many of the clones landed punches, kicks and strikes to Leo's body. If he were a man, Leo would have been bruised and bloodied by now, but having been blessed as a turtle, his incredibly hard shell and plastron deflected many of the attacks like a natural armor. White puffs of smoke would pop up as every now and again when Leo would defeat another clone, but he was still very outnumbered.

One Ishi broke through the crowd of clones and disarmed one of Leo's katanas from his grasp by twisting his arm and kicking the back of his knee, forcing him to kneel. Without missing a beat, Leo followed the motion and energy of the arm twist and rolled over, pinning the attacking Ishi to the floor and holding his other katana to her neck.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" the pinned Ishi suggested sincerely.

"Huh?" Leo kept his advantageous position but looked up in time to see the 10 other remaining identical Ishis surround him in a circle formation. Without warning they all made a small 'o' shape with their lips, cupped the side of their mouths with both hands before each projected a sharp jet of flames towards the unsuspecting turtle.

"GAAAH!" Leo hit the floor and grabbed the Ishi beneath him, rolling them both away from the streams of fire.

"WHOA!" Mikey and Raph yelled in unison.

"Fire Release Technique," Aya elaborated. "Ish has a natural abundance of chakra. Runs in her family. They can also knead chakra within their bodies, convert it into fire, and then expel it from their mouths like human flame-throwers."

Donnie, Mikey and Raph all looked back and forth from each other in shock. While Splinter's hand froze on his beard, "Most impressive…"

Leo looked down at the Ishi beneath him. She was smiling softly as she reached up and snuffed out one of the tails of his bandana that was still burning. "Hey… you didn't have to do that."

"What?" Leo shook his head, looking into Ishi's soft violet eyes and near doll-like face, while he tried to process what had just happened.

"We're supposed to be sparring with each other. You didn't have to save me from my own shadow clones …They can't hurt me 'cuz they're from my own chakra, silly!" She gave him a warm smile and a gentle shoulder rub before assuming a death grip on that very shoulder, flipping him onto his back. Leo looked up and saw the other Ishis gathering around them. When they all opened their mouths, Leo immediately snapped back into reality. He looked directly at the Ishi pinning him and uttered, "Sorry, Ish…" before breaking one arm free and landing a punch directly into her adorable face.

"EEEEK!" Ishi screamed as ten clouds of white smoke went off at once. When the air cleared this time, only one Ishi remained, gripping her face as blood dripped down her porcelain chin. "I-I dink he bwoke m-my nose!" Ishi sobbed, tears streaming down her face.

"You MONSTER!" Kaz rushed over to hold Ishi, pointing one sharp nail at Leo. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

"She was going to burn my face off!" Leo exclaimed, horrified by the quick turn of events.

"Nooo! My cwones… jus 'bout to... apwowogize…" Ishi continued to cry as Mikey rushed over, shaking his head at his older brother. "Seriously, Leo? SERIOUSLY?! She just brought us some seriously delicious cakes for pete's sake!"

Leo palmed his face in disbelief. "They were all opening their mouths at the same time! What was I suppose to think? The last time that happened, I was almost ROASTED. I'm not thinking about the cakes she made us!"

"You okay, babe?" Mikey asked, ignoring Leo's justifications. He cradled Ish's whimpering head in his hands and looked to Kaz with deep concern in baby blues. "Can you fix her?"

"What do you think?" Kaz answered with a roll of her eyes. "C'mon, Ish. Calm down…It's gonna be alright. Just breathe…" Again the radiant blue aura erupted from her palms as Mikey held Ish's head still. A few minutes went by, and soon Ish was sitting back up on her own. Kaz gently wiped the blood off her face with a hanky, revealing a perfectly petite button nose.

"Well, I guess that round technically goes to Leo…" Aya looked over at Splinter for an affirmation.

"I am reluctant to call this match." Splinter replied with a slightly amused smirk, tail whipping gently from side to side. "How are you feeling, Miss Ishi?"

"I'm good now, Master Splinter!" She gave a thumbs-up and smiled at the friendly rat, who gave her a thumbs up back, causing her to break into a giggle.

"What a night!" Mikey said as he helped Ishi stand. "Leo beats up a girl, and Raph gets beat up by a girl."

"IT. WAS. A. **DRAW!"**Raph roared as he glared back and forth between Mikey and a very smug looking Kaz.

"Well, I believe the time has come to see how Miss Aya will fare against my son, Donatello." Splinter cut in. "Same rules as before…only one weapon per opponent and your inherent ninjutsu skills. Let's try not to break anymore noses..."

"R-right." Aya acknowledged. "Guess I can't use all of this…" She shed herself of her bulky utility vest which landed on the ground with a heavy thud. She dug through its contents, pulling out various explosives, bombs, chemicals, machines, and other pointy devices.

Splinter's furry eyebrows lifted at the amount of weaponry the young lady was pulling out of her vest. It wasn't a small vest by any means, but the copious amount of gadgets and materials extracted from its pockets was bordering on a magic show. "You could use the kunai…" Splinter tried to helpfully suggest.

"Can't. Explosive. Would knock down half this lair."

"The shuriken?"

"Coated in dangerous chemicals. Would poison Donnie."

Donatello gulped as Aya continued to empty the vest. "Haha…y-yes, let's not try to burn the lair down or leave me paralyzed, yea?" He failed to stifle a nervous laugh erupting awkwardly from his throat. He felt embarrassed almost immediately, but Aya didn't seem to notice. Finally pulling out a simple manriki, Aya held it up to Splinter. "I choose this. No enhancements. No hidden explosions. Just the manriki."

Splinter nodded.

"Good choice," Raph commented with a grin. "Had one of those myself."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Yes, we all know Raph. When you were the all powerful Nightwatch Man."

"NIGHTWATCHER!" Mikey and Raph simultaneously said in irritation.

"Whatever."

Aya stood up and walked over to the center of the dojo. Donatello was already limbering up and stretching with his bo staff in tow.

"Watch out, Donnie!" Leo called from the sidelines. "Be prepared for _anything_!"

Donnie chuckled and began to spin his bo staff. "Got it, Leo! Alright, Aya, let's see what you can do…" He gave her another one of his toothy, infectious smiles, and Aya felt her stomach sinking.

"Y-yeah…" Aya said eyeing the ground. She held onto the manriki and began to slowly swing one end of it. She took in a deep breath before she charged full speed towards Donatello.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

* * *

**CHAPTER 7**

Aya released yet another exasperated sigh as her manriki struck the floor instead of Donatello's bo. He was too quick. Catapulting around the reach of her chain, he swung around to deliver a mighty kick. A gust of wind washed briefly over her skin as she did a back bend to avoid the blow. Aya was becoming progressively more frustrated because she could not get close enough to the turtle. _I need to disarm him first_, she thought to herself. But that was proving harder than expected.

It was still difficult for Aya to process that the sweet guy who was chatting excitedly about her inventions in her bedroom just hours before was currently attacking her with a bo staff. Sure, it was just an exercise, but this athletic turtle was giving her quite the challenge, making it harder to reconcile his usual gentle demeanor with his physical prowess.

After a few more swings, Aya finally managed to wrap her chain tightly around his bo. Donatello grunted and tugged hard, trying to twist the manriki out of her hands. Aya was too stubborn though and tugged right back. It was then that Donatello noticed how toned the kunoichi was, crouching on the floor with her long-sleeved v-neck rolled up all the way up to her shoulders, arms flexing in their brutal tug-a-war. She must have only been 5' 6'', but had a shapely and fit figure. Donatello found himself admiring what years of training at the ninjutsu academy had done for her frame. She was feminine, but deadly.

Aya noted the way Donnie's eyes were locked on her every movement and hesitated for a second under his determined gaze. Suddenly she felt the chain slip from her hands and rattle across the dojo floor like a battered snake. _Shit. That was not supposed to happen._

She knew they were both long-range fighters, him with his bo and her with all her myriad of weapons. But now, she had nothing to maintain their distance, and he was bounding towards her with an unstoppable force.

Aya leaped into the air to avoid the rapidly spinning staff, but it swung back in the opposite direction towards her head as she landed. Lifting an arm to block the blow, she heard the wooden staff whip a vicious slap right against her elbow. It hurt more than she cared to admit. Although he wasn't as bulky as Raph, Donatello was still incredibly muscular and strong by any human standard. He was leaner, closer to Michelangelo's build, but incredibly cold and calculating in his techniques. He was a natural strategist, and she could see him reading and anticipating her moves while delivering devastating attacks simultaneously.

Desperate, Aya stole a glance at her vest and weapons scattered across the other side of the dojo. She shook her head. _No weapons_, she reminded herself.

The intense spar went on for another five minutes or so. A few times, Aya almost succeeded in securing a leg lock on his neck, but he'd slip away just in the nick of time. None of the other turtles and kunoichi were making any comments, as all eyes were glued to the intense match. Aya rolled back into a handstand to avoid a hit, when she suddenly felt a burning cramp in the right elbow that had been previously struck and collapsed as it gave away under her weight. The sound of a hollow swoosh ended abruptly with Donatello's bo halting right before it would have hit her head.

"The winner is Donatello!" Splinter is announced from the sidelines. Aya heard Mikey and Leo give a whoop of excitement.

"Dats it?!" Raph exclaimed. "I was waitin' for some crazy jutsu or somethin'. Fireballs? Energy blasts? CLONES? NUTTIN'?! "

Kaz elbowed him sharply in the side. "Don't be a jerk," she muttered between her teeth.

"Great spar," Donnie beamed happily, wiping the sweat off his brow. He extended his large green hand to help her up. "You're really amazing, Aya..."

The emerald eyes that looked up at him displayed a sudden dullness. Lacking their usual cheery and enthusiastic glow, Donnie's mouth slightly fell when Aya gave him a visibly forced smile, ignored his hand and got up on her own. She turned and bowed quickly to Master Splinter. "Thank you for this opportunity. I've learned a lot," she stated politely before heading towards the dojo's exit.

Donnie was stunned, frozen with his arm still outstretched. _What just happened? Did I do or say something wrong?_

Kaz rushed up to Aya before she could leave and reached for her arm. "Hey, let me see that elbow."

"It's fine," Aya replied, pulling away.

"Aya…" Ishi began softly.

"Ish, really I'm fine," Aya gave the girls another tight smile. "I think I've seen enough of everyone's skills today, so I'm going to start on a plan to rescue Rei, okay?"

"Hey!" Mikey chimed in disappointedly. "But I didn't get to show you guys what I can do yet…"

Ishi placed a delicate hand against his plastron and shook her head. "Maybe tomorrow…" she encouraged softly.

Everyone remained quiet and watched Aya rush out of the dojo.

"Is Miss Aya going to be all right?" Splinter asked with concern.

"I think so," Kaz responded carefully. "I think she's just been having a tough week…"

Moments passed before Mikey spoke up again to break the awkward silence that had swallowed the room, ""Soooo…is anyone hungry?"

….

Aya sat in a dark corner on the second floor of the lair. She didn't quite know where to go, having not received a full tour of the place, but she did know that she needed to be by herself for a bit. She walked past several circular entrances that looked to lead to bedrooms. Not wanting to be rude or intrude on anyone's personal space, Aya parked herself several feet outside one of the doorways closest to a corner in the wall. Curling up with a pen and notepad, she tried to focus on creating a plan based on the various skills she saw in the dojo today. However, between the loud chatter and laughter coming from the kitchen and the thoughts that were bogging her down, she just couldn't focus. Aya dug her pen around the notepad and lost herself to her thoughts.

She didn't know how much time had passed before a voice from the shadows caused her to jump, "Wow, that's a pretty effective plan you have there…"

Aya stared down to see that her notepad was now filled with nothing but swirly doodles and haphazardly crossed-out sentences.

"Joking, joking…" the Donnie said as he pulled two mugs from behind his back. "I thought you might want a drink after the workout, so… um…I wasn't sure if you preferred tea or coffee…"

Aya blinked several times at the mugs offered before her.

"But if you weren't thirsty, I'll just…" he started to step back tentatively.

"I'll take the coffee," Aya said quietly.

Donnie exhaled and handed her the large white mug. They sat together for a while without exchanging any words. He took several large gulps of his tea while Aya took tiny sips of the coffee. The warm liquid ran down her throat and felt oddly comforting.

After a while, Donnie stared at his now empty mug. "Hey, Aya? I'm sorry about earlier. If I did anything or said anything to upset-"

"No, Donnie. I should be the one to apologize." Aya cut in, feeling terribly guilty.

"Huh?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to seem upset at you. It's just been extremely tough these past few weeks… with Rei missing and all. And you're right, we really did have a good sparring session. You're a really strong fighter, and I was very impressed. So, thanks for that…and also the delicious coffee…" She turned to her companion and offered a genuine smile this time.

Donnie relaxed a bit and crossed his legs, leaning against the stone wall. "And you were really good too, Aya. You almost had me quite a few times actually. I truly meant it when I said you were amazing..."

"You don't have to say that, Donnie." Aya's hands grasped her mug tightly. "Not without my weapons, I'm not. Raph was right. I don't have a 'crazy' jutsu like Ishi and Kaz. These past few weeks without Rei have been really tough. She's always been our team's leader, and without her, our team has been lost. _I've_ been feeling lost…to the point where there are days where I think what if I don't have what it takes to bring her back…I guess losing that exercise really made me worry...what if…"

Aya stifled a choking sound that threatened to come out of her mouth. Admitting her greatest fear aloud affected her in a way that she hadn't anticipated. She buried her face in her hands, embarrassed that she might cry or show weakness in front of Donatello.

It hurt Donnie to see Aya this way. Having only known the kunoichi for a short while, he had already come to admire the things that he had learned about her – her skills, intellect, enthusiasm for science and technology, and the dedication she showed to finding her teammate. There were even a couple of moments during their talks where he had to remind himself to slow down and not get too invested. After all, his last crush on a girl did not exactly ended in his favor.

Granted, enough years had pass to allow Donnie to deal with the rejection and now he was genuinely happy for his friends April O' Neil and Casey Jones. It had been a few years since the happy couple's marriage, and now they were expecting their first child in a few months. Donnie was thrilled at the prospect of becoming an uncle, but it had not always been this way.

Though he was no longer a teenager, he could never forget the sting of unrequited love. Donnie had been infatuated with April from the moment they became friends. She was a beautiful woman of science, who often stayed up late with him to work on interesting projects and inventions. She was a confidant, a muse, and a cheerleader. She even saved him and his family on multiple occasions at the risk of her own life. He believed that because they shared so many common interests and had gone through so many harrowing adventures together that she was "The One."

After years of harboring his unspoken feelings, Donnie finally confessed to April when it became apparent that Casey Jones was actively pursuing her. Although Donnie was well aware that his appearance was far from the human standards of handsome, he still believed he had a small probability of being a contender against the thick-headed, sports-rabid Jones. After all, Casey wouldn't have been able to keep April's interest with a lively conversation about the latest computer technology or discovery in genetics. April probably didn't call him when she had a problem; that was always Donnie. So late one night, the turtle put everything on the line and broached the subject while April worked with him in his lab.

The result was a disaster. April was clearly stunned by his confession, and didn't speak to him for a few days. When she finally reappeared, it was to let him know that she only thought of him like a little brother/close friend. She hoped they could continue their friendship and that he would be supportive of her relationship with Casey, who she reciprocated feelings for. April even gently mentioned that she never suspected Donnie's feelings for her because she never thought that he and his brothers were attracted to human females. The conversation awkwardly ended with April giving him the cliched lines, assuring him that he was a great guy and that one day he'd make someone else very happy. Donnie was devastated.

Even though things were no longer weird between him, Casey, and April, and Donnie was no longer an awkward teenager, but rather grown in his mid-twenties, he was suddenly reminded of this painful memory when he was around Aya. Here was yet another woman that he found attractive and intriguing, with so many similar interests and passions, and they were even about to embark on a mission together with his family. He couldn't let history repeat itself. He wouldn't be able to deal with that pain again. He couldn't let himself fall and re-open that wound.

After his conversation with April, he had spent years making himself accept that he and his brothers were destined to lives without lovers because they were mutants forced to hide from a human world that would never fully accept them. Sure, experience had shown that they could develop a few friendships with humans here and there, but there was no evidence to show that they could ever be accepted as romantic interests. And Donnie learned the hard way to not rely so much on probability when it came to musings of the heart. He would only listen to evidence now.

Yet presently seeing Aya choke back her tears and show this unexpected vulnerability, tugged at Donnie's heart strings more than he could help. He took a deep breath and put his hand onto her back. _You're just comforting a friend_, he reminded himself. _She's devastated, and she needs your help. After that, she'll go back to Japan with her reunited team. You'd be a pen pal at best, so just focus on the task at hand._

He soothingly rubbed her back as Aya continued to hiccup into her hands. "Why would you even say something like that, Aya? I've seen you fight. I've seen your incredible and lethal inventions. I've seen the determination and conviction in your eyes... _Of course_ you have what it takes to bring Rei back. There's no evidence to the contrary…"

"Oh, but there is," Aya's voice quivered. "Donnie, you weren't there. You don't know how it was growing up as the only ninja in the academy who had no ability to execute any advanced jutsu…no shadow clones, no control of the elements, couldn't manipulate internal chakra…I didn't even have a bloodline jutsu to fall back on. The only thing I could do was sense other people's chakra, and that was just a reminder of what I couldn't possess. And for that, I was the lowest woman on the totem pole. The other kids would bully me relentlessly because I didn't have any special skills to fight back with besides basic martial arts…which was obviously no match for their advanced techniques..."

Aya blinked back an unruly tear that threatened to spill from the corner of her eye and continued, "It wasn't until I met Rei that things changed. She was so kind; she actually fought the other kids who picked on me and encouraged me to study the things that I found interesting. That's how I found weaponry. She taught me that like a true ninja, I needed to adapt to my environment, and so I did. By excelling at weaponry and technology, I developed skills to not only stand up to my tormentors, but also to succeed on missions and become a force to be reckoned with. And that's how I ended up on Rei's team. She was at the top of our class, and she chose me –someone who started out at the bottom—because she said she needed my skills and talent. And now when she needs me the most…I haven't…couldn't… deliver…"

Aya shut her eyes and shook her head as she tried to swallow down a sob. Donnie exhaled slowly and wrapped a large arm around her shoulder, bringing her into a hug. "First of all, I'm really honored that you shared your personal story with me, Aya," he said gently. "What you've been through must not have been easy, but I don't think you should jump the gun and tell yourself that you can't do this. You've told me that you and your teammates have been working together on missions for years. Have you disappointed Rei or any of them over that time? Are they not happy with your contributions?"

"No," Aya shook her head. "We've been lucky; we've all worked really well together and get a lot of jobs assigned to us because of our good reputation…"

"Right. So Rei's faith in you isn't unfounded. Don't compare your unique skills, with or without weapons, to anyone else. It took me years to realize that even though I'm not as physically strong as Raph, as fast as Mikey, and do not live and breathe ninjutsu the way Leo does, doesn't mean that I'm a disposable member of my family. My own strengths and skills have saved my brothers' tails numerous times."

"Oh…" Aya tried to internalize Donnie's words. "…You guys have tails?" she broke free of Donnie's arm and tried to look behind him, causing the turtle to turn a deep shade of red.

"Yes, t-they're tucked inside our shells most of the time, but we're _**digressing**_ from the point! _The point is..._everyone is different. Even those who have qualities that we may envy sometimes have their own set of problems and weaknesses. That's why it's the best when we all work together to get the job done, instead of always comparing with each other and putting ourselves down."

Aya nodded slowly. "That sounds like something Rei would say."

"Well…I'm really glad Rei chose you to be on her team." Donnie replied. "And I'm glad Kaz and Ish are on your team too because they really care about you and believe in you. For goodness sake, they even came all the way down a sewer to team up with a bunch of weird mutant turtles because they trust you!"

Aya couldn't help but to laugh a little as she wiped a tear form her eye. "You guys aren't that weird…"

"Oh really?" Donnie smiled and lifted an eye ridge. "I don't know, you seemed pretty scared when you first saw me…"

"Well, you certainly shocked me, but I wasn't frightened," Aya honestly admitted. "There was just something about your energy that seemed...safe."

"That's right. You can read people's chakra," Donnie noted out loud with a slight tone of wonder. "What else does my energy say about me?"

Aya turned to face the turtle sitting besides her. "Hmm… well, let's see…" She told him to stand, and he did. She followed suit and closed the distance between them. Donnie must have been slightly over 6 feet tall, so she lifted her hands and rested both against his plastron. She then gently pressed her cheek against his plastron as well, feeling his body stiffen against her touch and his heartbeat thump beneath the surface. "Sorry, it just takes a moment. I can read energy better the closer I am," she explained with her eyes closed.

Donnie thought his heart would hammer its way out of his chest. Tentatively, he wrapped both arms around Aya's back and waited. _Just a friend…reading your chakra, as friends do …when you ask them to. Yup. Totally normal. _He repeated to himself over and over again.

"Your energy feels warmer than most…despite your blood feeling cooler." Aya noted. "I also feel great strength, loyalty, protectiveness…but…there is also a hint of conflict…I can't put my finger on it, but..."

Donnie pulled away suddenly and coughed nervously. "Probably because I'm so hungry! I'm _conflicted_ between trying some of Mikey's cooking and getting started on that plan!" He wanted to kick himself for spoiling the moment with such a horrendously lame excuse.

Confused, Aya blinked a few times before deciding to just go along with it. She had already cried in front of him and revealed so much personal information about herself this evening; there was no need to make him feel even more uncomfortable tonight. "Yes! Of course!" she blurted out. "I bet everyone is pretty hungry after that workout, right? Let's go downstairs and eat. Then work on the plan afterwards?"

Donnie nodded eagerly. "Sounds good! And I think Mikey still really wants to show you want he can do. He loves to claim that he's better than Bruce Lee with his nunchucks."

Aya giggled and watched the purple clad turtle turn to go downstairs. "Hey Donnie?" she asked hesitantly, causing the turtle to swing back around.

"Yes?"

She walked towards him and wrapped her arms as far as she could around his shell, giving him a real hug this time. Looking up into his chocolate brown eyes, she expressed her appreciation. "Thank you… for listening…for the talk…for everything..."

"Y-you're welcome. Any time…" Donnie stuttered slightly as he looked down into her dazzling green pools, still a little wet from her earlier tears. He swallowed hard. _Oh crud..._


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

* * *

**CHAPTER 8**

Ishi pulled a Foot ninja mask over her face before kneeling over the underwear clad, hog-tied man that lay before her. "Hope you don't mind me borrowing your favorite outfit tonight," she whispered, slapping a piece of duct tape over his mouth before dashing away.

The fully disguised kunoichi landed on a dark ledge outside the Foot Headquarters. "_Kage!_" it was barely audible, but enough for two identical ninja clones, also dressed as the Foot, to appear on either side of her. "We're ready," she spoke into her earpiece.

Donatello looked up into one of the many monitors in the back of his van, parked inconspicuously about a block away. "Take five steps to the right, and drop down to the next floor if it's clear," he replied. Before long, three foot ninja appeared on one of the monitors and uniformly flashed peace signs with their heads tilted to the side.

Aya sighed softly, "Yep, there's Ish. Even making the Foot look adorable."

Mikey nodded enthusiastically in agreement, but Casey Jones just rolled his eyes, "Dis one's all cotton candy and unicorns, ain't she?"

"Oh shush," Mikey retorted. "Would you rather be home massaging April's swollen feet?!"

The thought of his very hormonal and emotional pregnant wife, left Casey silent.

"Thought so."

"Let's get serious guys," Donnie said as he handed both Mikey and Casey headsets. "Mikey… that's your cue. You know where to -" He didn't need to finish, Mikey was already out of the van. "Casey, you wait here and pull up the van when I tell you to."

"Got it, Don!"

"Alright, remember the plan," Aya spoke to Ishi via her earpiece. " I'm going to read you two security codes from Donnie's program…the first unlocks the door at the northwest entrance and the second unlocks the southeast entrance. Take one of your shadow clones with you to meet Mikey at the northwest. You guys will scope out the areas of the map marked in red that I gave to him. Send your other clone to the southeast entrance to meet Leo, Raph, and Kaz. You guys will head to the lab. When any of you find Rei, give Donnie and I the signal, understand?"

The three foot ninja nodded and saluted to the camera.

Donnie switched a button to his headset, "Leo? Are you in position?"

"Yes. Ready to go." the eldest turtle's voice came through from the other end.

"Good. Ish is on her way. Keep an eye out."

…..

Hidden behind the perfectly manicured hedges in the Foot Headquarter's courtyard, Leo, Raph, and Kaz crouched as low as they could. How are you doing over there, Kaz?" Leo asked barely above a whisper.

Kaz scratched the strap of the gas mask tied around securely to her face. "It's itchy, but better than suffocating on whatever that wretched smell is coming from this building," she tried to say, but what came out as a muffled - "Eeithcee burrrbeeaaasoff Akate burbebur maahkor ohmee burding" dotted with heavy breathing behind the bulky gas mask.

"God, it's like bein' on da same team as Darth Vader. Can't understand nuttin' she says with dat thing on," Raph whispered with a devilish grin.

Kaz sent him a stabbing glare.

"Too bad she can't wear it all da time, am I right?"

Before Kaz had time to sock Raph in the arm, Leo shushed them both as a foot ninja appeared on the courtyard grounds. The ninja casually greeted two of the guards at the entrance and struck up what appeared to be an amusing conversation with them. Soon, the two guards turned to each other and started to laugh, and the foot ninja took that chance to knock them out cold.

"I think Ish just arrived….let's go!"

…

_**[40 minutes later]**_

Rei wanted to groan, but she felt like she didn't even have the energy to do that. Her head was throbbing, and there was pain. _Everywhere._ She had been in and out of consciousness for weeks, but now she felt like she had been out for even longer than usual. She was enshrouded in complete darkness, and a distant sound was starting to penetrate her consciousness. It sounded like a voice, but what was it saying? As it grew closer, she noticed that there were other voices around it.

"WEIIII! WEIIII!" Kaz shouted desperately from within her gas mask. Raph smashed one of the metal bindings securing the near comatose girl to the table with his sai, and Kaz quickly reached for her wrist to find a pulse.

"We found her. _Lab_." Leo spoke clearly into his headset, and Donatello's voice confirmed that he and Aya were on their way. He looked over to the emaciated girl on the cold steel table. "Hey, Kaz….what's wrong with her eyes? Why are they bandaged up like that?"

Kaz shook her head frantically. Blue auras enveloped from her palms as Kaz tried to transfer some of her own chakra to heal Rei's boney and withered body. "WEI! PRUUUHZ DURN DAYE!"

"She can't understand ya with dat thing on!" Raph impatiently growled , "REI. WAKE UP! YOUR FRIEND KAZ IS HERE!"

Kaz is here. _Kaz is here._ The words broke through Rei's consciousness like a glass shattering. "H-he's here…" Rei tried to gasp through her throat. It was too dry though, and instead, her voice came out like dead leaves lost to the wind.

Kaz leaned in, unable to make out what her friend was trying to tell her.

"T-taah…" But before Rei could finish, a deep and sinister laugh slithered out from the shadows.

"Well, well…if it isn't another one of my_ favorite_ girls….and what's this? You even brought escorts. How charming…though honestly, you could have done much better than these beasts." Tatsu uncloaked himself from the darkness, brushing his long-green pony tail from his shoulder to his back. "Kaz. Always a pleasure."

"BAHZOO?! BURK EEW!" Kaz's voice barked through the muffled mask.

Tatsu threw his head back and laughed heartily. "I see you've noticed the perfume I've left all around this building just for you. Don't you recognize it? It's your favorite….white phoenix tail blossoms! I made sure to spread fresh blossom petals through every air duct in this building. Humans can barely notice it, but you would notice it right away, wouldn't you? Don't you like it, my sweet?"

Kaz scowled from behind her mask.

"Ooooh that's right! You're painfully allergic! How could I forget? Your poor nose….OH! I can only imagine the discomfort! The loss of power! Oh….dear….." Another throaty laugh.

"Dis guy seems ta know a lot 'bout you," Raph ground through his teeth, gripping his sai.

"Oh how rude of me not to introduce myself to your grotesque monster friends," Tatsu smiled at Raph, his unnatural blood red pupils gleamed in the most unsettling way. "You see my dear green freak, I have quite a history with Kaz and her girls. They have the most irritating habit of meddling with my work and research. Did Kaz tell you that last year,her and her little team destroyed my entire operations in Japan and nearly killed me in the process? Frankly, it was quite disappointing. I lost of all my greatest work and brightest staff. And I see Kaz is back now, trying to steal my latest…patient."

"She's not your patient," Leo said as he unsheathed his katanas. "Rei belongs with her team, and we're taking her back."

"Oh dear…" Tatsu drawled. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

" 'Nuff talkin'! We're not askin' for permission!" Raph thundered as he rushed towards Tatsu with sais drawn.

"RAPH! WAIT!" Leo and Kaz shouted at the same time.

Tatsu laughed as he dodged to the left and dodged to the right with one arm behind his back and the other relaxed at his side. Infuriated, Raph charged at Tatsu with even more force, finding his opponent's laughter ever more grating by the second. Suddenly, Tatsu dodged Raph's last blow by turning quickly to the side and pinching the back of Raph's exposed neck. An audible gasp erupted from the red clad turtle as he froze in his current position. Veins bulged from Raph's arms, shoulders and neck, as a yellowish glow formed where Tatsu's hand made contact with Raph's skin.

"NOOOOOO!" Kaz screamed into her mask.

Tatsu held on to the frozen hulk of a turtle with one hand as his other went up to block the katana that came down upon him from behind. Forced to face a fully agitated Leonardo with his full attention, Tatsu released his grip on Raph, and the turtle slumped to the ground like a sack of bricks.

"He can absorb chakra if he touches you!" Kaz tried to shout.

"What?!" Leo couldn't make out the sounds coming from Kaz's mask as he dodged Tatsu's ever reaching hand.

"HE CAN ABSORB ENERGY! LIKE A LEECH!" Kaz repeated. "IT MAKES HIM STRONGER!"

"We're here!" Ishi's voice rang through the lab. "Sorry, my shadow clone disappeared after I broke you guys into the lab. We almost blew our cover, so I had to re-absorb….—" Ishi froze upon seeing the sight before her. "REI!"

"RAPH!" Mikey screamed as he rushed over to his fallen brother.

"T-TATSU?!" Aya nearly choked on her own spit.

"WHO?!" Donnie turned to Aya and Ishi who instantly got into their fighting stances.

Suddenly Leo flew across the room and knocked over Mikey, who was busy dragging an unconscious Raph back towards the group.

"AGH! Watch it, bro!" Mikey rubbed the back of his head and winced.

"Sorry, Mikey…" Leo grimmaced as he rubbed the area of his plastron that Tatsu kicked. "Be careful guys, I think Kaz said this guy can absorb our energy upon touch. I think that's what he did to Raph... he's about as strong as him right now…"

"It's true," Aya confirmed. "Tatsu steals your chakra with his touch. He takes on some of your qualities from that chakra too." She bent down to check Raph's pulse. "He should be fine… just blacked-out from getting too much of his chakra stolen, but we need to get him out of here _quick_. We all need to get out of here. Tatsu is too dangerous right now."

A blood curdling scream sliced through the chaos. Everyone looked to see Kaz holding bloodied, unraveled bandages in their hands. Ish ran over and clamped her hands over her mouth, "H-her eyes…."

"Ah," Tatsu grinned as he brushed off his robes. "I see you're admiring my work. Really improves upon her beauty, doesn't it? I've always found Rei's eyes a rather….ghastly? Almost…ghoulish?"

Aya anxiously walked to her teammates and peered down into Rei's face. Her eyelids were pulled back, but instead of the familiar light grey, nearly white, pupils that usually occupied the sockets, two of the most blood shot eyes with blackish brown pupils stared emptily back at her. Aya suddenly felt the urge to vomit.

"I know, it's beautiful isn't it?!" Tatsu admired his own hands. "A true master's work of art!"

Aya turned solemnly to Kaz, "Heal them." Her teammate, however, remained unmoved. "_Heal them."_ Aya repeated more firmly.

"But she'll lose her _byaku-_" Ishi began nervously.

"HEAL them or she loses ALL eyesight." Aya ordered, snapping Kaz out of her daze and putting the medic work.

"Tatsu…" Aya scowled. "Who was it? Who paid you for Rei's eyes?"

"Oh Aya, you no-talent ninja. You know as well as I do that there is such a thing as doctor-patient confidentiality."

Donnie growled and stepped in front of the kunoichi with his bo-staff at the ready. "Let's end the games, Tatsu."

"We can't do this here," Aya whispered to Donnie, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. "Tatsu is too dangerous with Rei and Raph so vulnerable right how. We just have to get everyone out of here. Okay?"

Donatello hesitated looking between Aya and Tatsu, but then reluctantly nodded and stepped back slowly.

"Tatsu…we thought you were dead…" Aya began as she secretly pulled three explosive kunai from the back of her vest, wedging each tightly between each knuckle.

"Of course you did," Tatsu's smile melted off his face as he glared. "You didn't kill me, but do you want to see what your little handy work did to me last year?"

Stepping further into the light, Aya could see where the scrap metal one of her signature bombs had penetrated multiple locations in Tatsu's chest, scarring him grotesquely and irreparably marring his infamous dragon tattoo. She instantly regretted not setting a few more bombs in the trap that she had laid for him that fateful day.

"I guess we're about to see what my handiwork can do to you _this year_," Aya quietly breathed before she directed the three kunai at her enemy with deadly accuracy. The first two exploded on either side of Tatsu, sending rubble from a nearby wall towards him. The third landed between his feet, causing a crater to sink him into the ground. "Ish, NOW!"

Tatsu launched himself out of the crater, only to be met with a giant smoke bomb that burned his eyes and throat. He threw his sleeve over his nose and squint his eyes, just in time to make out a hoard of Ishis descending upon him. Striking many out of the way, he angrily fought his way through the crowd of opponents, but created more exploding white smoke in the process, obstructing his view and senses. By the time he made it to the operating table, he could see that it was empty, along with the rest of the lab. Tatsu immediately noticed Aya's shadow preparing to jump out the window. "NOOOOO!" he clawed into his robe and launched a several shuriken towards the figure. The shuriken flew as quickly as lightning towards their target. Only one clang a shuriken hitting a wall sounded, indicating that the other four had found a much softer surface. Tatsu watched Aya's figure drop off the ledge.

The soon-to-follow sounds of screeching tires meant that a vehicle had peeled away into the night.

* * *

Aya remembered throwing the smoke bomb before helping Leo haul Raph's incredibly heavy body over the ledge. She remembered tossing Rei's sparrow-like frame into Kaz's arms, then watching Ishi create her shadow clones before taking her exiting swan dive. And she remembered Donnie's pleading eyes, begging her to hurry as he stood below the ledge with arms extended towards her. After that, she didn't remember much, just a numbing pain bursting from several points of her body, a sudden lack of oxygen, and an inviting darkness that engulfed her in a deep, deep sleep...


	9. Chapter 9

******Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

* * *

**CHAPTER 9**

"C'mon, Donnie. Just join us for _one _topside run for supplies," Leo pleaded again. "It'll be quick, and the fresh air will do you good. It's been FIVE days."

"I said no thanks, Leo." the occupied turtle replied without looking up from his computer. "Still researching alternative antidotes to counteract the poison."

"But Kaz says you did just fine! Listen, we're all concerned about Aya getting hit with those poisoned shuriken, but you mixed a perfectly effective antidote. You just have to be patient and let the medicine run its course. Aya will wake up soon. Give yourself a break…"

"Well, just in case she doesn't wake up so soon, I'm researching a backup plan," the clacking on the keyboard resumed.

Leonardo sighed and rubbed the top of his beak. "Okay, Donnie. I didn't want to bring this up, but is there something I should be worried about?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You've been sleeping here in the lab for the past five days on that makeshift cot." Leo pointed at the pile of blankets in the corner of the lab.

"I need to be here in case she wakes up and needs something in the middle of the night."

"Just be honest with me, Donnie. All this fussing and obsessing…are you attracted to Aya?"

Donatello almost choked and swiveled around in his chair to look at the unconscious Aya lying in the lab's hospital bed.

"She's _still_ knocked-out. She can't hear us." Leo rolled his eyes, but courteously lowered his voice anyway. "Just answer the question. I'm not going to judge."

Donnie didn't want to lie to his brother. After all, Leo had been the one he confided in after the incident with April blew up in his face. He could never forget Leo's support and non-judgment when he finally broke down in front of his older brother. Leo simply let him cry, rant and blow off steam until he wore himself out. Donnie stared at the back of his hands resting on his knees, "I-I don't know...maybe…."

His brother nodded in acknowledgment, "That's what I thought. You've been spending so much time with her, even before this happened, and I see the way you light up when you talk about her. She's interested in so many of the same things you are, and it doesn't help your case that she's pretty easy on the eyes either."

Donatello raised an eye ridge at the eldest turtle.

"You _know_ what I meant, Donnie. I'm just worried. I just don't want you to get hurt like …" Leo stopped himself before he could finish the sentence.

"With April? Yea, you can say it, Leo. You think I haven't connected those dots myself?"

"I didn't mean to say that –"

"I know you didn't," Donnie took another glance at Aya to make sure she was still unconscious, and then he lowered his voice too, "I know what you meant, and I agree. I've been checking myself ever since I noticed it too. It's just not always that easy. You know I have the tendency to fixate –projects, concepts, inventions, research – when I get into something, it's hard to tear myself away. I guess, it's the same with women, but I'm older now and more _aware_."

"So then what's the plan?" Leo asked.

"The plan is that there is no plan. The last time I checked, I'm still a huge mutant turtle, and from what I've learned, human females aren't particularly attracted to that. I should just be thankful that Aya doesn't run away in terror every time she sees me, right? I'm amazed that she even wants to be friends. Besides, after this whole ordeal is done, she's going back to Japan with her team. She has a life there – her job, missions, friends, most likely family, and maybe even someone special back home waiting for her." Donatello paused for a second to let what just came out of his mouth sink in for himself. "I'm pretty positive that spending the rest of her life with the Phantom of the Sewer is not at the top of her list. So no, don't worry, Leo. I won't say or do anything under some delusion that would ultimately hurt myself and freak Aya out. I know what I am."

Leo winced at the harsh words Donnie used to describe the situation, "Well, no need to say it like that. That's was a little too…"

"A little too what? Realistic? You have better advice for me? Based on your track record with women?"

Leo looked at his brother and frowned. He couldn't argue with that. The only time he developed an inkling of feelings for a woman, she turned out to be the Shredder's daughter. For a while he kept giving Karai opportunities to choose good over evil, to turn over a new leaf and choose a new path, believing that she was plagued with inner turmoil. He even offered her protection and safety, but time and time again, she made it abundantly clear that she would remain loyal to the man dedicated to destroying him and his family.

After the Shredder was defeated, Leo had hoped Karai would recognize her freedom to make her own decisions, but she decided to carry on the legacy of her father and seek revenge upon his death instead. He had long accepted that they would be life-long enemies, and the most recent turn of events only solidified that. Karai was so far gone, he couldn't have even imagined it. The second Kaz lifted Rei's eyelids in Donatello's lab to show Master Splinter the damage done to her teammate, Leonardo recognized the original owner of those pupils to be Karai. He was instantly repulsed by how heinous and inhuman Karai had become, hiring a monster like Tatsu to break apart innocents like toys.

Leo felt like a fool for ever believing that she would have chosen a different life. Balling his fists at the thought, he gritted his teeth. Donatello's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. "Hey, I'm sorry, Leo… I didn't mean to take it out on you like that. You didn't deserve that."

He felt a three fingered hand pat his shoulder and he looked to see his brother standing beside him with a concerned look in his eyes. "It's okay, Donnie. I think we're all just really tired from this week."

Donatello nodded in agreement, "Hey, you're right. I could use that fresh air. Let's go topside for those supplies before Mikey starts crying about how he's gonna starve to death again." A smile appeared on both of their faces.

"Really? You're coming with us?" Leo was pleasantly surprised.

"Yep," Donatello stretched his arms and cracked his neck from side to side. "I think staying cooped up in here is going to drive us all koo-koo. I'll tell Kaz to take over my watch while we're out."

….

Kaz yawned and leaned back into Donatello's lab chair. She felt like she hadn't slept for months. Between healing Rei for hours upon hours every day and spending the rest of her time eating whatever she could find and napping in two hour intervals to restore just enough chakra for yet another healing session, she felt like a husk of her former self.

While staring up at the ceiling of the lab, she pondered how the turtles and Master Splinter had been incredibly welcoming and accommodating for her and her team and letting all of them stay at the lair. It was far too dangerous for her and Ish to be at their apartment with Aya and Rei on the brink of death, while Tatsu was still out there. The day after they returned safely to the lair, Ish, Mikey, and Casey went to the girls' apartment to bring back as many necessities and supplies as they could. Still, Kaz felt bad for intruding on their new friends' home, especially when one of their brothers was out for two whole days after his run-in with Tatsu.

She frowned as she remembered how Raph slumped to the ground after Tatsu's absorption attack and how impotent she felt for not being able to help him and Rei at the same time. That feeling of powerlessness only increased when she saw her dear friend Aya crumble off the ledge and land like a rag doll in Donatello's arms. Had it not been for Donatello helping her like a professional triage doctor, turning his lab essentially into an emergency room, Kaz couldn't imagine the terrible fate that would have befallen her team.

The sound of a soft snoring brought her back to her senses. Ish had dragged one of Mikey's bean bag chairs into the lab to keep her company and nested herself quite snuggly into it. Kaz drowsily smiled at the sight.

"Kaz?" A small voice next to her suddenly jolted her awake.

"A-Aya?" The medic-nin spun around to see the green-eyed kunoichi fluttering her eyelids open.

"Kaz ….what happened?"

"AYA!" Ish shot up from her bean bag. "You're awake?! You really are!"

"Ugh…feels like I've been out for days…"

"You were. Five days to be exact," Kaz said flatly. "You were struck by four of Tatsu's poisoned shuriken."

Aya's eyes shot open at the sound of the name. "What?! Where's Rei?!"

"Calm down, She's with us now," Kaz soothed. "She's still in and out of consciousness and sleeps most of the time, but I'm healing her for hours every day. She should be able to regain full eyesight in a few days, even if she won't have the ability to use_ byakugan_ anymore…"

A moment of silence settled in the room as everyone understood that that would have to be a whole other issue to deal with when time came.

"…Can I see her now?" Aya asked anxiously.

"No, she's sleeping right now in Leo's room. She has to sleep most of the day to heal. You can see her in the morning."

Aya nodded. "But then where's Leo sleeping?"

"Master Splinter's room. The guys have been kind enough to let us stay here since we couldn't stay in the apartment with Tatsu running around and you two out cold. Mikey is sleeping in Raph's room. Ish and I are sharing Mikey's room."

"Got it," Aya looked into her medic friend's face and realized how incredibly exhausted she looked. Once lively dark eyes, glimmering with mischief were now lackluster and droopy for lack of sleep. Her wavy auburn hair seemed more tangled and disheveled than usual. "Thanks, Kaz. You're a miracle worker. I can't imagine how tired you must be -healing all of us at the same time."

"No you can't," Kaz said with a small grin. "And I actually didn't heal you. I didn't have enough chakra. Donnie was your doctor. And Raph's. He's probably a zombie like me now."

Aya blinked in surprise. "Donnie? I didn't know he had medic skills?"

"Neither did I, but he did a pretty damn good job! Look for yourself!"

With Ishi's help, Aya sat in her bed and removed her thin blanket. A horrified gasp escaped her mouth when she immediately noticed that she was in a cotton tank top with no bra, loose cotton shorts and had a catheter running out between her legs. "H-he …"

"Oh! No! NO!" Kaz tried not to choke on her own laughter. "I did the catheter and the undressing. I meant he did all the bandaging, stitching, IV, _and_ the antidote to the poison!"

Aya returned to her normal shade of coloring and exhaled loudly with relief. "_You scared me, Kaz! _I would have never been able to look him in the eye if…"

Ish was giggling hysterically at this point. Kaz did her best to straighten her face and act serious before pointing to the bandages on Aya's ankle, shoulder, upper arm and upper rib where the shuriken had damaged. "The one on your ankle was the worst. He had to make some stitches there. You may have trouble walking while it's healing. The other wounds didn't need stitches, but they still need to be monitored closely."

Aya examined the work. It was clean, neat, and incredibly meticulous. She marveled at how his large and uniquely shaped hands could form such delicate stitches. _Never judge a book by its cover…_she thought to herself.

"So is there anything you want now that you're awake? Food? Water? A magazine?" Kaz smiled and played her part as nurse.

Aya shifted uncomfortably in the bed. "Actually a bath sounds really great right now… I feel rancid."

"You smell rancid," Ish joked and pinched her nostrils together to make a face.

Aya giggled softly as Kaz helped her out of the bed. It was just nice knowing that the team under one roof again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

* * *

**CHAPTER 10**

Donatello headed towards his lab, stretching his arms over his head. The run with his brothers had been great. He hadn't realized how sore his neck, back, and legs had been from sleeping on the lab floor and worrying about Aya for days. When he reached the door, he halted at the sound of female giggling. Suddenly Aya's voice broke through the laughter, "_Ow!_"

Donatello's eyes widened, and he immediately swung the door open. "Aya?!"

Sitting before him were the three wide-eyed kunoichi -Aya sitting in bed wearing a lavender cotton night dress, Ishi brushing her (_short, braidless?!_) hair, Kaz bandaging her arm- and Master Splinter holding a photo album open.

"Hi Donnie! " Aya beamed while rubbing her ribs, "you're back!"

"You're up!" the worried turtle rushed over to her bedside. "Are you okay? How are you feeling? Where does it hurt?"

Master Splinter chuckled. "Please slow down, my son. We have been taking good care of Miss Aya in your absence. In fact, our guest just enjoyed a nice dinner and is currently looking through a few memories from our past." The old rat smiled proudly as he held up the album featuring pictures from the turtles' childhood. One page featured a photo of a young Leo dressed as a pirate with a "hook" made from a clothes hanger; he was standing next to a baby Mikey dressed in an alligator costume, made from cardboard cutouts. The next picture featured a short, squat Raph with an eye-patch, holding a homemade wooden sword, and a smaller Donnie - tied up, wearing an old blonde wig, and bursting into tears.

Donatello was _mortified_.

"Halloween was always their favorite holiday," Splinter commented nostalgically, as the three kunoichi erupted into another fit of laughter. "Ow!" Aya placed a hand gently against her rib and frowned, "It hurts when I laugh…"

"Maybe that is enough entertainment for now then," Master Splinter said with a smirk as he closed the album and stood. Ishi collected the tray of empty tea cups, and helped Splinter take the dishes out of the room.

"Well Doctor, now that you're back…." Kaz casually flung a roll of bandages and a bottle of antiseptic towards Donatello. "You can finish up the rest –her shoulder and rib injuries need a good cleanin' and re-wrappin'. I'm off to get some sleep! _DON'T_ wake me up unless there's a fire. "

The lab door shut behind her, and Donnie looked to Aya, who gently tucked a piece of her new, chin-length hair behind her ear. "Your hair…" he took a seat on the edge of her bed and began dousing a cotton ball with antiseptic.

"It's too short, isn't it?" Aya looked down shyly and subconsciously touched the ends of her new a-line bob. "I told Ish to cut it just short enough so that I wouldn't have to braid it every day with my bad arm, but she got too excited...It's horrible, isn't it?"

Donatello looked into Aya's face, half-elated that she was finally awake and half-captivated by the way the side-swept bangs framed her large, emerald eyes. He also noticed that the tapered layers drew more attention to her heart shaped lips. "N-no, not at all!" He felt heat rise up to his cheeks, "I think you…er…_your hair_ looks really great..."

Aya smiled warmly at the turtle who was now clearing his throat and shakily unraveling the bandages. He seemed so distracted, but she chalked it up to all the nights that he had stayed up looking after her injuries. After her shower, Kaz had pointed out Donatello's makeshift cot, telling Aya that he had slept there for the past five days just to make sure that he could help her if she woke up in the middle of the night. Something tugged at Aya's heart when she laid her eyes upon the disheveled blankets sprawled across the cold lab floor. It looked so very uncomfortable, and Aya felt all the more moved by his selfless gesture.

Aya suddenly sucked in her breath sharply as the cold, wet antiseptic was pressed against the sensitive wound on her shoulder.

"Sorry," Donnie abruptly stilled his hand over her skin. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, it was just really cold…" she smiled reassuringly.

The nervous turtle continued to sanitize the wound while consciously trying to ignore how close his face was to hers at this moment. He could smell her freshly washed hair and skin emitting a light, feminine scent of cherry blossom soap. Furrowing his brows, he tried to ignore the pleasant smells and focus solely on re-bandaging the injury.

Taking advantage of Donatello's moment of concentration, Aya's natural sense of curiosity suddenly took over and she seized the chance to carefully examine the turtle with her eyes. His olive green skin actually had its own sort of unique beauty beneath the light. There was an occasional light brown speck or a healed battle scar here and there, but for the most part he was certainly not as battered and scarred as his brothers.

She watched as his impressively defined muscles flexed slightly when he wrapped the wound and reached for scissors to cut the bandage. Although he was originally a pet turtle, the mutagen made him humanoid. His legs, shoulders, arms, and everything else aside from the enormous shell and unique facial features were more reminiscent of a professional athlete's body. She wasn't sure if it was her scientific or her female instincts, but she suddenly had the urge to run her fingertips across one of his large biceps, wanting feel the texture and development. _Get a hold of yourself,_ Aya's inner voice scolded, _that would definitely freak him out_.

"I have to clean and re-bandage the injury on your rib now," Donatello said as he finished securing the wrappings on her shoulder. "Are you wearing shorts underneath…?" he trailed off as his hands motioned to the hem of her cotton night dress. Aya instantly regretted choosing to wear her favorite lavender gingham print chemise. She had wrongly assumed Kaz would be treating all of her injuries after her bath, not Donatello. "Er…just panties…but…"

Donatello tried to stop his imagination from taking off with her words, but it was too late. He cursed himself as he felt a slight twitching beneath his lower plates. "I should go get Kaz," he said, suddenly getting up. However, before he could turn to leave, he felt a delicate hand gently take his wrist. "No please, she needs all the sleep she can get for Rei's sake…" Aya's voice pleaded.

Donatello watched as the kunoichi reached for the thin blanket and pulled it up underneath her dress and over her hips. She gingerly laid back onto the hospital bed and carefully rolled the chemise up, exposing the injury that lay just a few inches beneath her right breast. "That works, right?"

Donatello nodded silently and swallowed hard at the sight before him. Aya's creamy soft skin and exposed stomach did nothing to help his cause, but he tried to maintain his professionalism and examine the wound instead. _Must think of other things, _he ordered himself. _Wounds. Cuts. Scars. Infections!_

Aya exhaled softly and closed her eyes. She felt cool leathery fingertips press against her ribs. Another cold cotton ball was pressed against the healing gash, and she involuntarily arched her back at the sensation. "Ooh! Sorry…it's a little sensitive there…" she said moaned shakily.

"That's only natural," his voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper. "The injury is still new…just try not to move too much." Strong hands firmly set her back flat down on against bed, and Aya obeyed wordlessly.

Donatello finished cleaning the injury and looked for a large adhesive bandage to cover the wound. When he turned back around, he noticed that her squirming had slightly pushed the blanket down, exposing the top of a pair of violet, lace-trimmed cotton panties. Donatello bit his lower lip hard as he felt his body and male instincts betray him. The room suddenly felt too hot. He was light-headed from desire and shame, as the image before him was seared into his brain.

Holding his breath, Donatello quickly secured the bandage over the injury and pulled the chemise back over Aya's hips and promptly sat on his hands. "All finished!" he declared with a nervous smile, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Aya adjusted the hem of her chemise and carefully pulled the blanket out from beneath, exposing her long legs. "Thank you so much, Donnie," she said appreciatively. "You have a really gentle touch."

Donatello coughed a few times to recomposed himself. "T-thanks…Is there anything else you need?"

"I hate to ask, but I really don't think I can sleep another night in this hospital bed. Just the thought of it makes me want to peel off my own skin!"

Donnie chuckled slightly, "No, of course not. There's another room for you upstairs. Would you mind if I carried you up since your ankle is still damaged?"

The kunoichi shook her head and lifted her arms around his shoulders. Donatello gently scooped her up into his arms and carried her up the stairs. On the way they could hear Leonardo and Master Splinter chatting quietly in Splinter's room. From the kitchen, Ish, Mikey and Raph were laughing about something or another, and Kaz was already snoring soundly away in Mikey's bed. The bedroom before Donnie's was Leo's, and as they passed, Aya caught a quick glimpse of Rei lying in his bed, sleeping with a blue blanket pulled up to her chin. Her eyes were shut, but her brows were wrinkled as if plagued by a bad dream. The sight brought Aya mixed emotions –relief at Rei's return, but also extreme worry and anger from the recent events. Unable to process it all right then and there, Aya wrapped her arms a little tighter around Donatello's shoulders and buried her face into his neck, seeking the warmth and calm energy that he always seemed to generate.

"You okay?" Donnie asked as they entered his room. Aya nodded into his neck, "Just worried about Rei…" came the muffled reply.

Donatello gently set her down onto his bed, propping a pillow against the headboard, and sitting her up to the most comfortable position. "That's understandable. She'll be alright though."

Aya looked around her surroundings. She was sitting in a bed with purple sheets, in the middle of a fairly clean room with lots of computer parts, tools, and tech manuals and magazines stacked away on shelves and a large desk. There were tiny, hand painted toy robots on the nightstand and a few pictures of his family pinned against the wall. "Wow…is this your room, Donnie?"

The turtle nodded shyly and rubbed the back of his neck. He saw her notice some of the miniature robot toys that he had built and painted in his youth.

"I love it. It's so you." Aya smiled, but then paused for a bit. "But if I sleep in here, where will you sleep?"

"The lab. I fall asleep in there all the time, so it's no big deal."

"NO!" It came out a little stronger than she had anticipated, but Aya didn't regret it. "I can't in good conscience let you sleep another night on the floor, Donnie. Kaz showed me that cot you were sleeping in while I was knocked-out!"

Donatello looked away, hoping that Aya didn't think he was creepy for doing that. "It was fine really. I just wanted to make sure that you were going to be okay…"

Aya sighed, "Yes, I know, and that was so incredibly sweet of you. Sit for a second, will you?" she patted the spot next to her in bed, and Donatello hesitantly sat down on the edge. "You should take the bed tonight. Taking care of me, Raph, and working so hard all this time...you must be exhausted."

The purple clad turtle shook his head adamantly. "_You're_ the one with the injuries. You should have the bed and get rest."

"I've rested for five days straight," Aya said as she folded her arms over her chest, "I'm not tired. In fact, I was probably going to just stay up and do some reading tonight. I can do that at your desk, right? And you can sleep here."

She flashed him a big grin, but the turtle continued to shake his head. "No."

"At least stay here a while to keep me company? "

Donatello looked into Aya's persistent, pouting face and felt a little piece of his will crumble. Aya noticed the hesitation in his eyes, and immediately scooted over towards the wall and patted the larger empty space that she had formed on the bed for him, "Just lay down for a second and chat for a little while?" she asked sweetly.

The reluctant turtle felt his insides churn with anxiety, but he did as he was told, "Fine, just for a little while, but then I'm going back to the lab…" Aya smiled and nodded in agreement. "Thank you."

The minute he sank into the soft mattress, Donatello knew he had made a mistake. It felt so comfortable and his eye lids instantly became a bit heavier than before. "See? That's not so bad…" Aya said with a mischievous grin. Her plan to lure him into a deep sleep was already working.

"Just five minutes," Donatello stubbornly repeated, he folded his hands over his plastron. "I won't take the bed from you. You still need rest, even if you're not tired right now."

"That's fine, and you're not taking the bed from me. In fact, I think you're doing a really good job of sharing right now," she jokingly teased and poked him on the shoulder.

Donatello blushed deeply at the notion of sleeping with Aya in the same bed through the night. His mind couldn't help but to wander back to the sight of her arching her back beneath his hands in the lab, and the sight of the violet lace peeking through the blanket. He shifted uncomfortably and started to regret his decision to lay down in the bed while she still occupied it. Donnie decided he had to start a conversation about something else to keep his mind off of any ungentlemanly thoughts. "You're family must be really worried about you by now," he took a shot in the dark, "since you've been in New York for a while now."

"Actually, my team _is _my family," Aya said frankly, "Both my parents died on a mission when I was five, so I grew up mostly on my own. I got to stay in the academy dorms during the summers and holidays and was essentially raised by school staff."

"God, I'm so sorry to hear that Aya," Donatello frowned and looked up at the woman leaning against the headboard, nervously twisting the edges of his purple blanket with her hands. "That must have been hard…"

"In the beginning yes, but I wasn't the only one in those dorms. Being ninja is a dangerous line of work; I wasn't the first and only student whose parents had died or went missing during missions. It's unfortunately just a hazard that comes with the job. There were lots of other kids who had nowhere to go either. That's how I met Ish, she was orphaned around the same time I was. And after we befriended Kaz and Rei, they invited us to spend time with their families during summer vacations and holidays." Aya flattened the edge of the blanket that she had been subconsciously playing with and smoothed it over her lap. " That was really nice. It was like I got another chance to have a new family…"

Donnie continued to watch the contemplative woman beside him. "You're family is really amazing, Aya. I'm glad you met them and that they took such good care of you." She smiled and looked back down at the turtle laying beside her. "Your family is pretty awesome too, Donnie. And _thank you_, for taking care of me the way you did. No one outside of family has ever gone above and beyond for me like that…" she placed her smaller hand over his larger green one, folded on top of his plastron.

The masochistic side of Donatello just had to ask, half hoping that her answer would give him more motivation to tear himself away, "Not even someone special back home?"

"Ha! Yea, right…" the kunoichi laughed, "The guys were always more interested in Ish and Rei. And Kaz never had problems talking to the boys either. I think I was always just too awkward and obsessed with my academy work and missions to really get involved in that kind of stuff."

"Huh," Donatello thought aloud, "that's kind of hard to believe."

"What's so hard to believe?"

"That you've never had a boyfriend before?"

"Nope. I tried casually dating a few times because Kaz kept pushing me into these blind dates, but it never really worked out. I guess I bored them with all my talk about weaponry or my latest projects," she said half-jokingly, half seriously.

"It's their loss then. Those guys at your school were idiots," Donatello thought aloud.

"That's really sweet of you to say," Aya smiled and gently rubbed her thumb across his knuckles. "What about you though? Any special lady? "

"That's not funny, Aya," she was surprised at the sudden coldness in his response.

"I was serious, Donnie. I wasn't trying to make a joke…"

"Well then, of course there isn't anyone special."

"Why do you say it like that? 'Of course'- why would it be so obvious?"

"Because look at me," a tinge of hurt betrayed his voice. He saw Aya's eyes searching over his face, but her brows were still knitted into a confused expression. "Because I look like a giant mutant freak!" he finally said taking his hands out from beneath hers and sitting up suddenly. _This was a BAD idea,_ he thought to himself.

Aya was taken aback, but she gently placed both hands on either side of his cheeks and tilted his face towards hers. "Hey…stop that... I'm sorry, if I made you feel uncomfortable, but I'm looking really hard, Donnie, and I don't see anything wrong with you."

"I don't want pity…" Donatello felt embarrassed for losing his cool and for not giving Aya the benefit of the doubt, but all the pain and insecurity left from the lessons he learned from April had been triggered, and suddenly his chest felt tight from the emotions bubbling beneath.

"Do you pity me for my past and who I am?" Aya gently swept a thumb across one of his cheeks.

"No, of course not. Y-you're ….perfect….," Donatello muttered softly, eyes cast down.

Aya felt her cheeks flush at the turtle's genuine sweetness, but composed herself to focus on him. "Then why should I pity you then? You are certainly NOT a freak – FAR FROM IT. You're one of the most genuine, caring, intelligent and amazing individuals that I've ever met." She watched as he raised his gaze to meet hers. One look at the pain and vulnerability behind his eyes, and Aya had to cast all caution and propriety to the wind. She was determined to cheer Donatello up. "Sure, you look different, but you know what? I LIKE the color of your skin. It's an amazing shade of green that no one else in the world has. You know what I also like? How insanely athletic and skillful you are. Guys spend years at the gym to get fit like you, and girls go nuts over guys with muscles like this," she playfully gave his bicep at squeeze, causing the turtle to smile and turn a deep shade of red.

She relaxed a bit when she saw the shy grin break across his serious face, "And look at these fingers," she said in a more gentle tone, taking one of his large, three-fingered hands in both of hers. "No one can work a bo staff like these hands. These hands…they saved my life…They're perfect the way they are. And you're perfect the way you are," Aya gently rubbed his palm with both her thumbs, and Donatello felt all his raging emotions melt away beneath his plastron. "Please don't ever call yourself that awful word again? For me?"

Donatello nodded, his mouth suddenly felt dry, and he could hear his heart beating in his ears. His head was spinning from trying to processing her words, her touch, her scent, her presence. "Of course…anything for you…" he managed hoarsely, placing his free hand over hers.

"Thank you," she said quietly, her breath brushing gently over his lips. Donatello shivered slightly and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he felt feathery soft lips press gently against his just for a fleeting moment, and he held his breath in disbelief. Pulling back, it took a moment for him to register the kiss, as he searched Aya's smiling eyes, but when he finally did, Donatello wasted no time to wrap his powerful arms around her waist and pull her body close against his. In return, she wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth slightly to accept his reciprocating kiss. It was cautious at first, and it took another moment for Aya to gently guide him to tilt his head at the right angle and to work his mouth in a way that fit hers, but Donatello unsurprisingly proved himself to be a quick and eager learner. She soon found herself surrendering to his passionate lips and protective embrace, as his warm aura, heated up pleasurably and enveloped her entire being.

"I don't think I want to sleep in the lab anymore," He panted when they finally broke apart for air.

Aya couldn't stop herself from giggling at the adorable statement. "Of course," she smiled, pressing a soft kiss on his beak. "You can stay here for as long as you like…"

* * *

**A/N:** And it's only going to get smuttier from here (though this version of my fic will remained sanitized to abide by FF . net rules; full graphic story available at The Lair and Adultfanfiction (both links available on my Author's profile).


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

* * *

**CHAPTER 11**

Donatello hovered over the kitchen stove waiting for water to boil in a kettle. His felt rather grim and depressed for it had been three days since his memorable night with Aya, and he had yet to spend another night with her since. Granted they had only spent their first night together kissing, cuddling, and talking until they fell asleep in each other's arms, but it was more than this turtle had ever imagined for himself. After spending the night alternating between states of bliss, disbelief, arousal, and pure relaxation, Donatello was not prepared to wake up the next morning to an empty bed… and the sounds of a bloodcurdling scream and shattering glass coming from Leonardo's room.

Rei had finally regained her full eyesight, and she wasn't happy with what she saw.

_**[3 days prior]**_

"Who left the _god damn mirror_in here?!" Kaz bellowed, "I thought I said NO MIRRORS!"

A guttural scream had come from Rei's throat. Her hands, bleeding from the knuckles, were covering both of her eyes as she shook her head back and forth, "I'll kill that monster...I'll kill _them both_for this!"

Shattered shards of what once had been a mirror were scattered across Leo's bedroom. "I-I'm sorry," Ishi stuttered. "I think I left it in here last night when..."

The medic-nin threw both of her hands up into the air in disbelief, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME, ISH?!"

Donatello was the first to reach Leonardo's room. He was met with the sight of Aya gently rubbing Rei's back, as her teammate sobbed uncontrollably, "My eyes..._my eyes_...I have the eyes of that _witch_!"

"No…no…Rei…," Aya desperately tried to soothe. "It's just a temporary state. We'll get your _byakugan _back. Please, I promise! Just calm down...and breathe…"

Another tragic cry spilled form from Rei's throat as she grabbed the nearest object and flung it at the wall in frustration. "Calm down?! They have taken_ my eyes_!"

"What on earth?! What is happening here, Donnie?" Leonardo demanded as he, Raphael, and Michelangelo appeared at doorway.

"I think Rei just saw herself for the first time since..." Donatello couldn't finish for Rei had broken out of Aya's grasp and was flipping over desks and furniture in a fit of rage.

"Ya didn't tell her 'bout her eyes while you was healin' her?!" Raph looked to Kaz in disbelief.

"She was only conscious about 4 hours a day! I was busy telling her about YOU GUYS so she wouldn't be in shock if she saw one of you! I mentioned her eyes wouldn't be the same...but I didn't have time to fully explain because there was...you know...THAT WHOLE THING ABOUT HOW TATSU IS STILL ALIVE AND HOW WE HIDE IN A SEWER NOW! I didn't want her to flip out all at once!"

"GOOD JOB! She's _definitely _NOT flippin' out now!" Raph yelled back sarcastically.

Kaz looked like she was ready to sock Raph in the jaw if it weren't for all the chaos Rei was presently causing.

"Whoa, whoa!" Leo stepped forward with his hands in front of him. Rei had torn down a katana hanging from his wall, unsheathed it, and began marching towards the exit.

"Rei, stop!" Aya pleaded to no avail. "You can't go out there like that! We don't even know where they are! And we're not strong enough to face Tatsu yet!"

Leo stood before Rei, stopping her at the door. He felt his stomach churn in confusion at the sight before him. Dressed in clean white, traditional Japanese dressing robes stood a hot tempered beauty with the eyes of his most hated enemy. She was glaring at him with one hand grasping his katana and the other forcefully pushing against his plastron. "Step aside, man-turtle!" she commanded, "My quarrel is not with you!"

"No, but you're taking my weapon, and you will endanger your team _and_ my family if you go out there. So I won't let you do that."

Rei glowered at him, "So be it."

Suddenly, the two were at each other with lightening speed. A blur of kicks, punches, swipes and slices formed the hard-to-follow commotion. When the dust settled, the katana had been dropped, but Leo had a slight cut across his cheek. Rei was pressed against the ground, arms held firmly behind her back by the dominating turtle.

"Take your hands off me this instant!" Rei ordered angrily.

"Not until you calm down," Leo shoved his knee into her lower back to keep her down as he turned his head and spit out a wad of blood.

"Never! You would not understand! They have taken my eyes..._my life_...and now I must take theirs!" Rei's eyes were frantic as she tried to break free from Leonardo's weight. She would have succeeded too, had it not been for Raph who had run out of patience about five minutes ago.

"Dats it!" the short-tempered turtle barked and marched over to the struggling pair. Before Leo or anyone else could stop him, he executed a swift strike to the back of Rei's head and knocked her out cold. A round of gasps filled the room, followed by dead silence.

* * *

_**[Present Day]**_

The tea kettle made a screeching noise snapping Donatello out of the memory. The weary turtle sighed and pulled out a teapot and placed some tea leaves into it. He missed Aya desperately - her touch, her kiss, her warmth. After Rei's meltdown, Aya had been sleeping with her teammate every night in Leonardo's room. She explained to Donatello that she needed to be there for Rei - to quiet her nightmares and to help her friend through this difficult time. And clearly, the brainy turtle understood. He and his brothers have had more than their fair share of harrowing adventures that left psychological marks on each other too. How many times in their youth had he held a crying Mikey to soothe his younger brother back to sleep? Or stayed up drinking beers with Raph in silence just because they both inwardly missed Leonardo who was training abroad? Donatello knew Aya had to be there for Rei, but it didn't make him miss or want her any less.

Fortunately as the days wore on, Rei began to calm down a great deal, and slowly came to accept what had happened. Everyone was still incredibly stressed and on the edge, but at least the screaming and restraining had come to an end. As he watched the tea leaves unfurl under the hot water, Donatello's mind drifted back to Aya - he wanted more than just only sharing brief exchanges in passing with his beautiful kunoichi, more than the looks of longing from across the room. Sometimes Aya would give his hand a quick squeeze gently stroke his cheek on the rare occasions that no one was else around, but that only seemed to drive him crazier.

"You okay, Donnie?" A heavy hand roughly slapped the back of his shell.

"Hey, Raph. Yea, I'm fine. Just tired…"

"Tell me 'bout it," his brother leaned back and his spine made an awful cracking noise, "Gah…Leo's been drivin' me up da wall wit all dis training."

It was true. Since Rei's meltdown, Donatello and his brothers were subjected to Leonardo's intensive daily trainings and practices. The eldest turtle made it clear that he was determined not to let Tatsu and Karai gain the upper hand at their next showdown. Unfortunately, that only meant tougher exercises, more drills and less breaks. Raph hanging on his last threads from Leo's strict schedule and demanding orders, and even poor Mikey was less peppy than usual.

"Yea, I don't know what's gotten into him," Donnie admitted.

"I'll tell ya wuts gotten inta him," Raph grabbed a carton of orange juice from the fridge and guzzled it straight from the carton. "Ol' Freaky Eyes."

"You mean Rei?"

"Yea, you know what I'm talkin' bout. It's like he hates lookin' at her, but he can't stop at the same time. Weird, right? He just ends up goin' to the dojo and takin' it out on us."

Donnie opened his mouth to respond, but he couldn't think of anything to say.

* * *

Aya and Rei were sitting across from each other on the tatami mats in Leonardo's now immaculately clean bedroom. The two had been chatting this evening, as they had been every evening, since Rei finally calmed down. Though still much thinner than what Aya was used to, Rei looked remarkably better than when they first found her. Some color had returned to her ivory cheeks, and her dark chestnut hair was brushed into a straight curtain that fell to her waist. Her eyes were no longer frantic and wild, but calmer and more sedated.

After spending much time cleaning up Leonardo's room and apologizing profusely, Rei had settled in better at the lair. She even spent some time having nice conversations with Master Splinter, whom she enjoyed meditation sessions with to bring her spirits back into balance.

Presently, amidst the tatami mats and Japanese calligraphy scrolls hanging in Leo's room, Rei looked like the very picture of zen. She sat in a kneeling position, legs tucked beneath her while she wore one of her clan's beautiful kimonos - a pale pastel yellow dress accented with small, bright orange koi fish swirling from the bottom and over one sleeve. A leaf green obi tied around her waist completed the attire. To the untrained eye, Rei would've looked like a serene beauty from a bygone era, but Aya knew better. Her teammate was one of the most deadly kunoichi to come out of the academy; she had been known to destroy the most skilled ninja with the grace and elegance of a dancer. However hard it was for Aya to see her leader stripped of her main source of power and identity, it was ten times harder for Rei.

"I'm sorry I brought all of you into this," Rei apologized again as she pushed the cup of black tea towards her friend.

Aya accepted the cup and gently blew against the hot liquid, "You need to stop apologizing to us every day, Rei. We're just so happy to have you alive and in a better state now... And like I've said before, it's not your fault. The Agency should have never sent you on that solo mission to begin with."

"Everyone must accept the solo missions every now and again. It's part of the job. I am just disappointed in myself for allowing my mission to end with my own kidnapping. Leonardo was right. I endangered everyone by making my team chase me half way around the world and get his family mixed up with Tatsu…"

"I don't think that's what Leo meant. First off, as your teammate and your best friend, I would have chased you around the world twice if that meant getting you back alive. Secondly, Leonardo and his family volunteered to help us. Karai is their enemy too." Aya tried to search for some emotion or reaction from Rei's expression, but could find nothing. It was strange staring into the face of her most beloved friend –a sister even—and seeing the eyes of the woman who ordered her mutilation. "…We have so much ahead of us, Rei. Can we just leave the guilt behind?" She leaned over and hugged her teammate hard. "I'm just so happy you're here with us now…"

Rei shut her eyes and returned the embrace silently.

"Are you sure you don't want to join the others for dinner?" Aya inquired gently. "I think Master Splinter would really appreciate your company."

"I don't know...I believe my presence is still disturbing for some. My outburst seemed to trouble Michelangelo and Leonardo the most, yes? And I do not wish to cause discomfort during the meal."

"You won't," Aya insisted sympathetically. "You've already apologized multiple times to Leo and we've cleaned his room twice over. He's probably training hard in the dojo as we speak to help us get your byakugan back from Tatsu and Karai. And as for Mikey, he's just a gentle soul. I'm sure he isn't really scared of you. He was probably just taken by surprise. And if anything, he's probably forgotten about it by now…he's been reading comic books and playing video games with Ish all day."

Rei was smiling at the image when there came a gentle knocking from the doorway. Both kunoichi looked up to see Leonardo standing at the entrance of his own room, holding a large tray with a pot of tea and covered plate of food. "Hope I'm not interrupting?"

"No, no. Please come in, Leonardo," Rei managed quickly with a gracious smile.

The turtle with the blue bandana entered the room and placed the tray besides Rei, "I noticed you tend to take your meals up here most of the time, so I brought you some dinner. Mikey cooked today, and he really wanted you to try some of his food."

Rei's brows went up in surprise and she looked at Aya, who smiled brightly and mouthed the words, "See? Told you so…"

Rei relaxed and carefully lifted the cover off of the steaming hot plate, but she could not stop herself from flinching at the sight of its contents, "What in the world...?"

Leo peered into the plate and was immediately embarrassed, "Oh Mikey..." he groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. "I think it's supposed to be one of his pot pies..."

Rei took a fork and poked a hole through the sagging, undercooked crust. A disturbing brown bubble rose from the crevasse and erupted into an unappetizing puddle of lava. An odd and steamy fragrance soon followed. "Um...thank you, Leonardo. It's..." her hands trembled and she tried to pick a piece of the "pie" up with her fork to demonstrate her gratitude.

Leo palmed his face and shook his head; he gently grasped Rei by her wrist. "You don't have to eat that. I wouldn't even eat this." The two met eyes, and Leo quickly looked away.

"Thank you…I really…I truly appreciate Michelangelo's efforts, but…" Leo put up a hand and Rei sighed with such obvious relief that Aya chuckled to herself.

"I understand, Rei. My brothers and I have eaten more of Mikey's experiments than we care to remember. But since this pie won't do…would you care to join us for dinner?," Leonardo asked sincerely, "I made some extra rice, and I can put on some hot water and make miso soup too. Does that sound alright to you?"

Aya looked hopefully at Rei, who took one long look at the alleged pot pie, and acquiesced immediately.

* * *

Most of the dinner was eaten in silence except for the occasional humming from Master Splinter who seemed to be the only one unaffected by the recent events. He quietly sang a happy Japanese folk song to himself as he stirred the tofu and seaweed in his miso soup. "Would you care for more rice, Miss Rei?"

"Oh, no thank you, Master splinter. I'm quite full," the kunoichi declined with an appreciative smile. "Thank you for the delicious meal, Leonardo."

"You're very welcome," Leo responded. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"No one wants more pie?" Mikey asked enthusiastically, only to openly sulk when everyone shook their heads with equal enthusiasm. Raph was guzzling down beer and punching his own plastron just to force down every bite, and even Ish, who generally seemed to support Mikey, was discreetly spitting into a hidden napkin.

Aya mashed up her pie up with a fork and moved it around her plate strategically to make it seem as if she had eaten parts of it. Every so often, she would glance up across the table towards Donatello, who would look back at her longingly. The blush coloring his cheeks made it obvious where his mind was, and Aya had to look away quickly to avoid drawing any suspicions from the others. It had been days since they spent their first night together, and she was desperately craving his touch. She bit her lower lip and looked towards him again, and watched him shift uncomfortably in his chair and rub the back of his neck distractedly. They had both been under so much stress recently, and all she wished was to be in his arms right then and there.

"We can't stay here for much longer," Rei broke the silence at the table. "We have to move out."

Donatello felt as if he had the wind taken out of him.

"If I've healed this quickly, that means Karai's body will have fully accepted my _byakugan_within the next few days too," Rei explained. "And when she figures out how to activate it, she will be able to see everything –where we are, this lair, and there will only be destruction ahead..."

"But where will we go?" Ish looked worried.

"Can we come with you?" Mikey asked earnestly.

"We've already endangered all of you enough when we got you involved," Rei replied sternly. "Master Splinter, we truly thank you and your family for your hospitality, but we cannot stay and continue to endanger your home and your sons. My team and I shall go into hiding and train for the next time we face Tatsu. Alone."

Donatello shook his head, "Even if your team left, Karai would have enough reasons to come down to the lair to hunt us. She's been fighting us for years."

"I agree wit Donnie," Raph added, slamming a fist against the table. "Dis Tatsu guy is on my list, and he's goin' down."

"Our odds are better if we work together," Donatello continued. "We barely made it out without a casualty the last time we faced Tatsu. Splitting up isn't going to help that. You said that the byakugan can see within a 10 mile radius correct?"

Rei nodded.

"Then we just need to get out of New York City for a while. It'll buy us some time while Karai is scouring the city for us. After that, it'll be a gamble, but I doubt she'll know which direction to look to first. At least by then, you and Aya should fully healed, and we have some time to do some proper training and planning to take down Tatsu and Karai."

"And get your byakugan back…" Aya added.

Rei's gaze waivered slightly and she pursed her lips in consideration.

"Hey..." Mikey began as the largest, most infection grin spread across his face, "I know a farmhouse we could stay at!"

* * *

Aya spread open an empty bag and sat on the floor of Donatello's room, slowly starting to fold her clothes and pack her things. She couldn't believe it -one second she thought she would never see Donnie again, and the next, they were about to go to Casey and April's farmhouse together. All it took was a phone call from Raph to Casey to explain this whole business, and they were to be on their way tomorrow. Even Master Splinter was coming along to ensure that the whole family stayed together and could protect each other. Meanwhile, Casey and April decided that they would go out of state to stay with April's aunt. April explained that since the farmhouse was too remote, and she was pregnant, she wanted to be closer to a hospital if anything were to happen. Therefore, staying with her aunt far, far away, but still within a city, would be the most ideal.

Aya zipped up her bag and threw it next to the bed. She was glad spring was coming to an end and summer was just around the corner. The fact that she didn't have to pack any bulky jackets or clothes meant she had more room for her weapons and gadgets. Her eyes twinkled with delight as she brought out a much larger suitcase and began to fill it with her favorite things - bow and arrows, shuriken, her retractable harpoon, kunai, a manriki, blades, and tightly wrapped canisters of ingredients for her smoke bombs and explosives. She was so enthusiastically engrossed in selecting which weapons to pack that she didn't notice the footsteps behind her.

"Whoa, slow down there. Leave a little room for your underwear," a voice laughed from behind.

She spun around on her knees and saw a grinning turtle wearing a purple bandana crouching behind her.

"Hey, I'll have you know I already packed my clothes in another-" She was silenced by a searing hot kiss.

Donatello's large hands crept around her waist and up beneath the back of her white tank top. Aya felt shivers shoot up her spine when his calloused hands brushed against the small of her back. She whimpered into his mouth, which only seemed to encourage him. "God, I've been waiting so long for this," his whispered huskily in her ear.

She moaned back as his tongue explored her mouth hungrily. Before she could even speak, she felt herself being picked up off the floor and placed onto the bed. "Donnie…" she rubbed his incredibly toned arms and pulled him into her. "I've missed you…"

He dipped his head down sucked on the pulse on her neck. During their first night making out together, he had quickly learned that this motion seemed to procure the best reaction from her.

Aya tingled with desire as Donatello's hot, wide tongue slide down to her collarbone, gently lapping at the delicate skin. "Oh god…yes…," she whispered softly, slipping her fingers beneath the edge of his carapace. Donatello felt a familiar swelling beneath his lower plates and groaned into Aya's neck. Completely immersed in the erotic sensations that she was causing him with such a simple touch, he growled softly in a way that almost sounded like a purr.

Aya pulled back immediately and placed a hand softly against the vibrations. "Donnie?" she questioned curiously as hooded, dark brown eyes met her sparkling green.

"S-sorry," he tried to compose himself in the heat of the moment. "That tends to happen when I'm…you know..." His face turned the deepest shade of red that she had seen yet and Aya giggled.

"Excited?" she finished for him.

He nodded eagerly.

"Hmmm…" Aya smiled mischievously as she slipped her fingers back underneath his carapace. She dragged her fingers slower this time and with slightly more pressure. Immediately her partner bit his lower lip and the familiar sound rose to his chest again.

"Wow…that is fascinating," Aya marveled. She ran her hands over his shoulders and kissed him tenderly on his beak.

"Y-you don't think it's too weird?"

"No! Not at all!" Aya encouraged him to onto his back and smiled. "You're going to have to tell me what else excites you. I love hearing that sound..." His heart swelled (among other things) at her words and he pressed mouth against hers in a deep kiss.

When they broke for air, he had a serious look in his eyes,"I-I don't know, Aya… you're the first woman I've done anything like this with so..."

"So maybe we have an experiment then?" Aya loved experiments, and this was no different. Her hands reached the exposed skin on his sides and down towards where his shell arched over his hips.

Donatello growled in response. "Sure…" he managed huskily, "but can I experiment with you too?" Aya blushed at the thought of Donatello exploring her the way she wanted to explore him and nodded, "I suppose it's only fair, but I get to go first. Deal?"

The purple clad turtle nodded and slowly exhaled, fluttering his eyes closed in anticipation. This was the night he had been waiting for.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

**A/N: **Major fluff warning. If the first part of this chapter seems to cut off suddenly, it's because I had to heavily sanitize the first part of this chapter as to not violate FF . net rules. Full smutty version is available at the TMNT Lair forum or AdultFanfiction under "comics" and my handle "tmntfangirl84." Links available on my author's profile.

* * *

**CHAPTER 12**

Aya licked her lips as she began to peel off the elbow and knee pads of the turtle lying beneath her. Though she was not incredibly experienced in the intimacies between males and females, there was something about Donatello that sparked a burning desire and inflamed her curiosity. Perhaps it was his extraordinary intellect, embodied in his hyper-masculine physique, and tempered with such a gentle spirit. The kunoichi couldn't articulate it, but she knew she was more than ready to delve into these feelings that he gave her through mutual exploration and experimentation.

Reaching up to untie his bandana, she gently placed butterfly kisses across his face and felt him smile beneath her lips. She sat back and took time to appreciate the completely naked turtle – granted, he was naked all of the time, but without his accessories, he seemed even more so. Donatello's muscles were toned and impressive to say the least. A small vein protruded from the swell of his left inner bicep, and she couldn't resist bending down to trace this vein with the tip of her tongue, dragging it slowly up his inner arm, through the shoulder and neck, before stopping right at his wanting lips. He shivered with need, "Aya, please…don't tease …"

She smiled and obliged. Her female instincts wanted to deliver, but not being the most experienced girl in the world, she hoped that she had the skill to satisfy him. "Tell me what you like or don't like, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed and shifted beneath her, placing both hands on her hips. Aya dipped down and started to plant fiery kisses on the skin directly right above his plastron.

"Like…" Donatello moaned yearningly. Encouraged, Aya slipped her tongue into the small crevice and licked the space where his skin connected to the plastron. Immediately she felt his hips jerk beneath her thighs and strong fingers started to knead her hips and slide towards her bottom. It only took a few more minutes before the clever kunoichi concluded that stimulation to any skin directly adjacent or underneath the edges of a shell surface made him react the most.

Her eyes sparkled with delight when she suddenly remembered something that had once piqued her interest. "Hey, Donnie?"

"Hnn?"

"Remember when you told me you had a tail?"

He almost choked. "Y-yeah?"

"Can I see it now?" Her hands brushed directly over his inner thighs, and she felt the thick muscles tighten beneath her touch. "Please…?" Her mouth was asking for permission, but her hands were already demanding -firmly stroking higher towards the piece of shell that connected his plastron and carapace.

"I don't know…it's a pretty sensitive area and…ooh…mmmm!" Donnie tried to muffle a desperate groan, but he felt like his mind was melting with pleasure.

"I'll be careful, I promise. Besides, it wouldn't be a complete experiment if I wasn't thorough, right?" She winked and tapped the underside of his plastron playfully. With a shaky exhale, the anxious turtle shut his eyes and unfurled his tail into his lover's hands. The raven haired beauty gasped as she saw the smooth, dark green appendage that lay in her palm. It was about 4 inches long and two inches wide. The color was definitely darker than the skin on his arms and legs, but it still had his beautiful olive green undertones.

"Oh, Donnie!" She tried not to squeal like a school girl, "It's _so cute_!"

Donatello blushed and laughed nervously. "T-thanks?"

Aya began by rolling the tail between her thumb and index finger experimentally, "Like?"

"Like!" he gasped as a sudden jolt of pleasure shocked his entire system. His toes curled, and he tried to seize control of his body in order to keep his rapidly swelling male organ from dropping out of his shell right then and there. As erect as he was beneath his plastron, Donatello did not want to scare the girl with such a _big_ surprise.

Though lacking real life experience with a woman, Donatello wasn't above internet "research" to satisfy his curiosities about the opposite sex. From the videos that he had watched online, he knew that his organ looked different than the human male's. And as such, he was determined not to expose that part of himself to Aya unless she was wanting and ready. He wanted to minimize the shock wherever he could.

_Wow…that __**is**__ sensitive_, Aya thought as she continued to pump the smooth tail gently in her hands. She noticed that her subject's breath was a getting a little ragged now, and his fists were clutching the sheets rather tightly. The sight was kindling a fire within her own core, and she felt her insides churn with a delicious yearning deeper than she had ever experienced before. Suddenly a large hand shot up and grabbed her wrist to still her movements. "Aya…_s-stop_…" Donatello managed to choke out.

"Am I hurting you?" the worried kunoichi asked and released his tail abruptly when she saw him wince.

"No—well, yes…and no. It feels good…but _too good_," he saw the confusion on her face, "It's starting to hurt because I'm getting a…little –ahem- swollen down there…and there's no more room for any further…_growth_." He wanted to crawl into a hole and die for using such awkward terms to describe his current situation.

Aya's face registered the meaning behind his words, and a deep flush stained her porcelain cheeks. "W-well, maybe you can…take it out of the plastron then…so it doesn't hurt anymore?"

"Are you sure?" Donatello couldn't believe his ears. "It looks a lot different than what you're probably use to…"

"I'm not used to anything. You'd be the first that I've gone this far with…," she kept her eyes down until she felt him shift beneath her, grabbing her hips to steady himself as he sat up between her legs and leaned forward to kiss her hungrily. She fell into his kiss completely, tasting him with an equal urgency.

* * *

_**[Meanwhile, at an undisclosed location…]**_

Karai felt nauseated. Sitting up in complete darkness, she felt around for the glass of water that usually sat on her nightstand, only to feel nothing. Hands wrought with confusion flew around the circumference of her reach frantically. No water. No nightstand. No bed posts. A wall. Bricks? No, that couldn't be right. This was not her room. A panic seized her, "Guards! Guards!"

"Ah, my dear…you are finally awake! I was _so very_ worried…" an unnerving voice slithered into her ears. Tatsu. _Of course. _

"Where am I?" Karai demanded, "Guards!"

Silence. She had a sinking feeling that her guards weren't coming.

"My, my… aren't we impatient already? _Relax._ You are quite safe for now. I've been nursing you back to health ever since the operation."

"Why am I not in my bed chambers as agreed upon then?"

"Well you see, _Mistress_. There was a little…mishap. Your so-called ninja guards failed miserably and allowed the patient's teammates and their giant _turtle _companions to infiltrate your building shortly after your procedure. They made off with the girl, so obviously I couldn't keep you in that very place with such _sloppy_ security. There had to be a change in plans…for your protection of course."

Karai frowned at the disconcerting news. _Where was she then? And the turtles? How did they manage to get involved in this?_

She jumped when icy fingers grasped her shoulders. "Are you ready to see my masterpiece?" the equally cold voice inquired.

It wasn't really a question, since no sooner had it been asked, Karai felt boney fingers slide up her scalp and slowly unravel the bandages that bound her eyes shut. The other boney hand shoved a cold metal object into hers. It had a long rounded handle and a flat, smooth surface_. A mirror._

The bandages were loosened and fell. She groaned at the bright light that abruptly seared her eyes. The world was a smeared mess of colors. Shapes were fuzzy, but with repeated blinking, she found that they were gradually taking on more recognizable forms. Karai blinked harder to clear her eyes of their unstoppable watering. Eventually, the room came into focus. Things were clear. Clearer than they had been before. It looked like she was in an abandoned warehouse. It was filthy. She noticed a rat skitter across the other corner. The drip coming from a rusted chemical barrel from the opposite side of the room. A small brown spider was busy spinning a web on the left most corner of the ceiling. It had one…_no TWO_… flies already caught in its web. Incredible. Her eyesight was incredible!

Tatsu's face was split into a chesire grin as he twisted her arm to bring the mirror up to her face. "_Look!_" he hissed with glee.

Karai saw a face with two large, light grey pupils staring back at her. She blinked and the face blinked as well. Her mouth fell open, and the face did the same. Cautiously she turned her face to the right while maintaining eye contact with the one in the mirror. Then to the left. The worry that plagued Karai's countenance melted as the truth settled in. _Yes. YES. YES! The procedure had worked! Byakugan was hers now!_

A maniacal laugh surged from her throat. Like her face, she could barely recognize it, but she knew it was hers. _This is the new Karai,_ she thought. _And this is a new era for the Foot Clan._


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

* * *

**CHAPTER 13**

_CRACK!_ Ishi cringed in pain and crashed through a myriad of tree branches. Landing in a clear opening in the middle of the woods, she rubbed her throbbing chest that had the misfortune of receiving one of Rei's unforgiving kicks. She coughed into her hands and blood speckled her palms._That's not good…_she thought to herself.

To the west, a family of sparrows suddenly flew out of their nest in a hurry. She didn't have much time. Catapulting herself into the air, Ishi spat several jets of projectile flames towards the direction the birds just came from. Within mere moments, Rei's figure was breaking through the wall of flames, arms crossed to cover her face and sleeves burnt off her kimono.

The fire only seemed to drive Rei into a deeper rage; she charged towards Ishi faster with her fingers extended, threatening to debilitate any target via their most devastating pressure points. Jumping backwards into a tree, Ishi ascended from branch to branch with her opponent on hot pursuit. The chase continued until Ish made the poor choice of landing on a weak branch that snapped immediately under her weight. As she fell, Rei ascended and met her teammate face-to-face for a split second. Two fingers dug right beneath the violet-eyed ninja's rib cage, a palm struck a pressure point directly on her diaphragm, and then hit several pressure points in rapid line formation up her sternum and onto her throat. With one final strike to the center of her forehead, a small puff of weakened flames evaporated from Ishi's parted lips. Her body froze immediately and toppled from the heights of the mighty tree.

Aya darted out from below just in time to catch her paralyzed teammate. _Rei…you're going too far…_she pondered warily. Kaz must have been thinking the same because her fist emerged from the great pine shadows and connected hard against Rei's jaw. There was an audible cracking sound, and Rei stumbled back, nearly falling out of the tree herself.

...

From elsewhere, Raphael chuckled beneath his breath and adjusted his binoculars. "Man I love me a good catfight..."

Michelangelo snorted with laughter from a branch adjacent and shoved a fistful of potato chips into his mouth, "Mmmm hmmm! These ladies are hardcore!"

"Watch it, Mikey!" scolded Donatello, squatting on a branch below the snacking turtle. "You're dropping crumbs in my shell!"

"Sorry, bro!"

"This isn't right," said Leonardo from an opposite branch. "Master Splinter said the girls specifically wanted to train and practice on their own."

"Well, if it's botherin' ya so much, Splintah Juniah, you can leave," Raph muttered and pressed the binoculars closer to his face. "No one's stoppin' ya." A moment of silence passed between the brothers, and Raphael smiled smugly when Leo made no retort and showed no signs of leaving either.

"Technically, we are letting them practice on their own," Donatello explained as he looked through his own pair of vision enhancing goggles. "We're not participating or interfering in any way. We're simply observing. Call it research if it you will. We're just learning more about their techniques."

"I guess that makes sense," Leo justified aloud. "It is informative to see how they practice with each other. They use so many different techniques, and they're pretty relentless when they spar with each other."

"Maybe that's just how they roll at that academy they're always talking about," Mikey wiped his hands against his thighs and put the bag of chips aside.

In the distance, Rei tripped over an invisible wire and a shower of kunai rained upon her. The lightning-fast ninja barely escaped unscathed. In fact, she quickly found that part of her kimono was now pinned against the tree by all the flying weaponry. She looked up in time to see Aya deliver an onslaught of rapid kicks towards her vitals. Rei tried to block left and right, but without her byakugan, she couldn't predict Aya's next moves via chakra flow. And as a result, she was getting thrashed.

"Aya's got some moves on her," Mikey noted.

"Got some legs on her too," Raph commented nonchalantly.

Donatello's eyes shot hot daggers towards his smirking brother. "Raph! You're –" He had to mentally check himself. Reluctantly, the fuming turtle bit his tongue and stayed quiet. He and Aya hadn't gone public about their most recent night time "activities," and he knew it wasn't right to kiss and tell without her say in the matter. Donatello would have to act casual so no one would suspect a thing.

"Raph's disgusting," Leo finished flatly. "We're here to observe new techniques, _no_t to ogle."

"Whateva, Leo."

"Uh…guys?" Michelangelo squinted through his binoculars while he bobbed one of his legs up and down nervously. "Something's getting weird about this fight…"

An echoing yelp caught the attention of all four brothers. Through their binoculars, they could see that the tables were suddenly turned. Rei was now straddling Kaz and both her hands were wrung tightly around her teammate's neck. Beneath Kaz's red facial tattoos,her skin was reflecting a disturbing hue of blue. Sharp clawed hands feebly tried to break free of the dominating ninja's death grip with very little success.

"We gotta go," Donatello said grimly.

…

"REI! STOP!" A bruised and battered Aya was clinging onto Rei's back, trying to pry her off of her other teammate . "GET A GRIP!_It's Kaz!_Let her go!"

In the background, Ishi was regaining consciousness and staggered to lean against a tree. "A-Aya?..." she rasped and stopped suddenly at the burning sensation in her throat.

"ISH. It's Rei again. Help me out! She's got Kaz! _Do something!_"

Ish shook her head and her eyes widened in shock as she realized what was occurring before her eyes. Inhaling sharply, she winced, but nevertheless tried to project a stream of flames from her lips. However, black smoke came forth instead and a thin line of red dribbled down her chin. Ishi drunkenly wiped her mouth in confusion before falling backwards into sturdy light green arms and a firm plastron. "Gotcha!" the familiar voice confirmed. As her eyes rolled back, the pink haired kunoichi caught the gleam of bright blue eyes that wavered with concern.

Aya rolled off of Rei just in time to see a charging blur of forest green and red collide with its target and knock Rei clean off of Kaz.

"UMPH!" Raph grumbled as he landed on the ground with Rei pinned beneath him. "What da hell, Rei?! What are you tryin' ta do?!"

"R-Raphael?!... What's happening?" Rei stammered. The impact of her head against the ground was slowly shaking her out of her blind rage and bringing her back to reality.

Meanwhile, Kaz spluttered for air. "Fuck…..you….Rei…," she managed between coughs and gasps.

"K-Kaz!" Her former aggressor sat up slowly as the truth dawned upon her. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize…"

"You almost killed me, _you fucking psycho!_"

Rei stared down at her own hands in disbelief. Kaz's words slashed through her like a thousand knives.

"Kaz, please…Rei didn't know-" Aya started to speak, but was immediately cut off.

"NO! You don't get to explain this away. Not this time. This is all_your_ fault!" Kaz directed an angry finger towards the green-eyed kunoichi. "I told you I didn't want to fuse that crazy bitch's eyes to Rei's body. _Now_ look where we are! She loses control like this _every time_we practice! Fucking hell…look what she did to ISH!"

All heads turned towards a somber looking Michelangelo cradling the fragile Ish in his arms. He was whispering something softly to her, and she was trying her best to force a weak smile for him in her degenerated state.

Kaz tried to stand up straight, but a sharp pain in her shoulder left her slightly hunched.

"I'm sorry, Kaz…I didn't know you felt that way," Aya was at a lost for words. Like her teammates, the change in Rei had horrified her as well, but she kept going in hopes that with time, the sparring sessions with their leader would get better. She had hoped that the times Rei would get lost in her darker thoughts would decrease, and she would eventually get in sync with the team like old times again. However, Kaz was right. It was getting worst. It had been nearly a week since they had all moved to the farmhouse. They practiced and trained every day, and Rei was showing no signs of improvement.

With the help of Donatello, Aya staggered over to Ish and checked her pulse and examined the insides of her mouth and throat briefly. "Rei must have scrambled her chakra in the middle of her Fire Release Technique. It looks like it reversed, and she burned herself internally. Luckily, since it was her own energy, she could stopped it before it could be fatal…but Ish probably won't be using that technique again for a while…."

Kaz shook her head in disbelief. "_Unfucking believable…_"

"Can't you just heal her?" Raph asked with genuine concern.

"No. I. Can't. _Raph._ I don't have any chakra left to spare...," Kaz flinched in pain and grabbed her shoulder. She shook her head and let out a small, bitter laugh. "Does anyone _ever_ stop to consider the toll it takes on _my_body every time I have to fix someone else's hot mess? These past few weeks have ruined me. But does anyone care? No. Rei certainly doesn't. She's proved that just now by dislocating my shoulder and nearly killing me all together. Who heals the medic when she's down? Huh?"

Tears were welling up in Rei's eyes. The lump in her throat had gotten so large she couldn't even speak. Silence fell over the group. The turtles didn't know what to say. They felt like guests who had just walked in on an intense family argument. Aya dragged herself over to Kaz and put a hand on her friend's good shoulder. "I'm sorry, Kaz…I really am…I just thought it would be more helpful to the team if…"

"You thought wrong." The icy tone of her teammate's voice made Aya's heart feel as though weighed a hundred pounds. "I'm really tired, Aya…" And before anyone had time to stop her, the tattooed kunoichi, pushed her friend aside and staggered off into the distance.

What seemed like an eternal quiet settled over the entire area. Michelangelo was soundlessly stroking Ishi's hair and would murmur something in her ear every now and again. In return, Ish would either nod or shake her head, but she was no longer speaking. Donatello slung one of Aya's arms over his shoulder and was holding her close. "We ought to get Ish back to the house. I have a first aid kit back there, and I'm sure Master Splinter may know of some remedies to help with her throat…" Aya nodded and leaned against him, feeling exhausted inside and out.

Raphael's gaze remained towards the direction Kaz had gone off in, while Leonardo slowly approached Rei, "Hey...maybe we should –"

"No…" Rei stood looked towards the opposite direction, towards the setting sun. "She's right…I've become a monster. I-I shouldn't be here…I'm sorry for all the trouble that I've caused." Her voice quivered and broke.

"Rei, no..." Aya reached out towards her friend, but the kunoichi threw a smoke bomb onto the ground. A large mushroom of smoke formed instantly, and by the time the air had cleared, Rei was no longer there.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

**A/N:** Fluff warning. Per usual, full smutty version available at TMNT Lair or Adult Fanfiction . net under "Comics" - under my handle "tmntfangirl84." Links available on my author profile.

* * *

**CHAPTER 14**

Ishi took an experimental sip of the herbal brew Master Splinter had set before her. It was a thick, black liquid that smelled as undesirable as it looked. As the drink filled her mouth, Ishi's face twisted up in disgust. How was it possible for something to taste minty, bitter, _and _salty all at once?

"There are eighteen different medicinal roots and herbs in this tea. It is not intended to be delicious, but effective," Splinter said matter-of-factly.

Ishi forced down a few more gulps and tried not to choke. To her relief, the unpleasant liquid coated the painful burning in her throat, and provided a slow, but gradual soothing sensation. The grateful kunoichi offered an appreciative smile to her nurse.

Splinter's whiskers twitched with delight when he saw his patient smile for the first time since returning to the farmhouse. He remembered how terrible she initially looked - dirt on her face and blood when she coughed. It also didn't help that an outwardly distressed Michelangelo was trying to explain what had happened at about a hundred miles per hour. If it weren't for Donatello providing a fluent translation of Mikey, the old rat probably wouldn't have figured it out altogether.

Setting down the large teapot on her nightstand, Master Splinter gave the recovering kunoichi important instructions, "Be sure to finish all of the tea or else its medicinal properties will not be as effective."

Ishi hesitantly nodded, mentally shuddering at the memory of its horrible flavor. Michelangelo, who was sitting at the foot of her bed, gave her ankle a gentle squeeze from over the blanket, and she relaxed at the sight of his reassuring smile.

"I know you are in good hands now," said Master Splinter gesturing to the youngest turtle. "So if you will please excuse me, it is time for my stories. I think Brenda is going to wake up from her coma and find out that Trevor is not really her boyfriend, but her step-sister!" The old master's eyes lit up as he started to shuffle away.

When the door closed behind him, Ishi exhaled deeply and flopped hard against her pillow. She glanced over at the large teapot and and gagged a little.

"Babe…" Michelangelo's tone was more serious than usual. "You heard what Master Splinter just said. You need to finish all the tea to get better…"

Ishi sat up on her elbows and frowned at him. She shook her head from side to side in a way that said,_NO WAY._

"Aaaw…c'mon Ish. Please? You gotta...," a slow smile spread across Mikey's face, and suddenly his cheerful blue eyes twinkled with mischief. "Don't make me make ya..."

Ish raised an eyebrow at him. _Oh really?_

"Cuz you won't win against my…. UBER POWERFUL PUPPY DOG JUTSU!" Mikey abruptly got down on both knees. His eyes became comically large and sparkly, and he jutted out his lower lip with a melodramatic quiver. From the back of his throat, he elicited the most adorable doggy whimpering noises. "Pleasepleaseplease, Ish? Pleeaaaaaaase?"

The kunoichi burst into a silent laughter. He always knew how to make her smile, but she wouldn't give in so easily. She shook her head more firmly this time -_NO!_

"WHAT?! Not effective?! Hmmmm…" Michelangelo pretended to stroke his imaginary beard as if deep thought. "Interesting. This has never happened before. No lady has EVER been able to resist my Puppy Dog Jutsu…AHA!" A large green finger went up into the air to pantomime his sudden epiphany. "A more DRASTIC measure must be taken!"

He popped up onto the edge of her bed and grabbed one of her hands into both of his larger green ones. He pressed her hand against his plastron and looked into her eyes with an intensity that took Ishi slightly aback. He cleared his throat dramatically before speaking, "Ish, if you drink all your medicine, I, Michelangelo the GREAT BATTLE NEXUS CHAMPION, will be your faithful servant for ONE whole day. And I will do anything you ask!"

A noticeable blush rose to the kunoichi's cheeks as the bold turtle surprised her by pressing kisses against the back of her hand with a great dramatic flair, as if to imitate a knight submitting to his lady. "If you take your medicine, I will even kiss the ground that you walk on…or how about your feet!?" His fingers inched dangerously close towards the bottoms of her feet, and she pounced on his wrists firmly before he could actually execute his threat.

"Well? What say ye?!" he teased.

Ish was trying not to laugh, and held up a finger instead. Hold on! She reached into her nightstand to retrieve her journal and pen. Quickly flipping it open to a blank page, she scribbled hurriedly. _Fine, but I get to pick the day and you'll have to do ANYTHING I ask…ALL DAY!_

Michelangelo read what she held up and practically beamed, "You got it, dudette!"

Before Ishi could even appreciate how ridiculously happy he looked, he had already refilled her teacup with the ominous black concoction and placed it firmly in her hands. She shot him a begrudging glare as the god awful stench attacked her senses. Finishing the entire cup and the three subsequent refills, she felt both relieved and exhausted when the last drop was finally gone.

_There. Happy? _She wrote again.

"Very…" His smile was gentler now, and he scooted a little closer to her.

Although she crossed her arms and pretended to be mad at him, Michelangelo noticed that she had also scooched over enough so that he could crawl into bed next to her. He took up the available space without hesitation and wrapped a large arm over her shoulders. "Tired?" he asked softly when he saw that her rub her eyes. Her pink bun bobbed up and down as she nodded, and it flopped over against the crook of his neck when she leaned her head against his shoulder. He gathered her up in his arms and let out a sigh of content and mild exhaustion.

He loved the way she fit in his embrace, and he loved that she was so open to his touch from the very start. Michelangelo was always the touchiest of the turtles. He enjoyed pouncing on his brothers and giving big bear hugs to April (though he had to stop once she was pregnant and settle for belly rubs). Ishi never seemed to mind that Mikey always wanted to hug her or even cuddle her when they were watching movies together. In fact, she appeared to welcome it and reciprocate, which made his little turtle heart soar.

Over the past few turbulent weeks, Ishi and Michelangelo had found solace in each other's company and progressively began to develop a special connection. Ishi had stood out to him right from the start. Raph would tease him and say that he only noticed her because she was holding a giant pile of cupcakes, but with or without baked goods, Ishi was inarguably beautiful. Her cotton candy pink hair and doe-like violet eyes reminded Mikey of a fantasy character that walked out from the pages of any one of his favorite novels or comic books. However, there was something deeper to Ishi, that could not be simply gleaned from superficial looks.

After a particularly rough day that involved one of Rei's brutal meltdowns, Mikey remembered commenting to Ish that how cool it was that she managed to stay positive and help her team without any complaints about their current predicament. Afterall, everyone else seemed to be on the edge. He noticed that Ish wasn't upset that Kaz had screamed at her for leaving the mirror in Rei's room, and in fact, actually went to comfort Kaz later that day. As a fellow lover of peace and harmony within his own family, Mikey really liked a girl who avoided drama and work actively towards bringing people closer - and in such a positive, bubbly and charismatic way too. He commented aloud that it was really awesome, and that she must have been born with a natural gift.

It could have been the fact that they had stayed up talking so late that night, or maybe she was actually inwardly tired too, but it was then that Ishi shared a deeply personal story with Michelangelo. As it turned out, Ishi had actually been born a terribly nervous and shy girl. As a young ninja at her academy, she had always prefered to play by herself, chasing butterflies and picking wildflowers on her own, as opposed to playing with the other kids. In her family, it was Ito, her older sister, who was in fact the brave one of the bunch. Ito was sociable, popular, happy-go-lucky, and was always trying to get her baby sister to come out of her shell. However, Ishi never seemed to budge due to her constant state of social paralysis caused by her own shyness and a fear of saying or doing the wrong things in front of others. Still, the two sisters had an inseparable relationship, and Ishi would tell herself that one day she would get enough courage to be as daring and gregarious as her role model, Ito.

Then one fateful night, Ishi had snuck out into the woods after bedtime again to do what she loved the most - chase the fireflies and watch the night violets bloom in the dark. She didn't remember much, but she must have ran around for so long that she wore herself out and fell asleep in a bed of moss. It wasn't until the next morning that she awoke and stumbled sleepy-eyed back home to a scene no child should ever have to witness - the cold, slain bodies of her entire family. Overnight, enemy ninja that had infiltrated their home on a mission to eliminate the fire-breathers in her clan in an act of vengeance. It was only out of sheer luck that Ish had survived, and the jarring event forever changed her.

She had to learn mortality at such a young age and with the the hardest lesson possible. As a result, Ishi knew that life was fleeting and the profession she was in did not promote longevity. She had two clear choices - continue to living in fear and depression, or relish every moment as Ito did without regret. As difficult as it was in the beginning, she decided to choose the latter, and she never looked back.

Michelangelo realized that Ishi truly lived up to the meaning behind her name; she was indeed a rock. She was strong enough to survive such a traumatic event, and she was a cornerstone that grounded her entire team. What his brothers would dismiss as too carefree or silly, he knew these characteristics emerged from a deeper place. Ishi savored happiness and worked extra hard to create a joyous, light-hearted environment for her new family, because she understood what real pain and loss felt like.

Mikey was conscious that he too was always trying to do the same for his own family. Granted, he was luckier than Ishi in the sense that he never had to feel the pain of losing a direct family member, but there were many times where he was filled with the fear of loss (e.g., when Leo was beaten to the brink of death by Shredder, when Leo went away for training for so long that they weren't sure if he would return, and then just two years ago, Splinter had sent both Raph and Donnie away for training as well). Michelangelo was always the one trying to facilitate harmony amongst his brothers with lightness and humor because he truly cherished the time that they had together. He knew that one day Splinter would send him away to train, and although he was excited for the opportunity, part of him hurt knowing that he'd be so far away from everyone that he loved.

The turtle with the orange bandana jolted suddenly as he nodded off and his head dropped in a way that woke himself up. The slight jostle caused the kunoichi in his arms to look up at him drowsily. "Sorry," he whispered to her. "Did I wake you up?"

Ish shook her head and wrote lazily in her journal. _ No, can't really sleep anyway._

"Still worried about Rei and Kaz?"

She nodded and frowned.

"Don't worry, babe. Everything's gonna be okay." Michelangelo absentmindedly rubbed her back as he spoke. "Leo's gonna bring Rei back, and Raph is going to do the same with Kaz."

Ish made a face.

"Hey. Raph isn't fancy with his words like Donnie, but he can be a pretty convincing guy. Trust me. And Leo, well….he's Leo. He won't accept failure, so I know he'll do whatever it takes to bring Rei home. Okay?" He gave her an earnest smile. "And if that doesn't work, I'll go find all four of them and drag them all back here!"

Ishi looked up at the lively and determined expression on Michelangelo's face. He wasn't just saying these words to make her laugh or cheer her up per usual. There was a real sincerity behind them. She nodded and curled up against him a little closer. She brought up a hand and brought his face down to hers. _Thank you, Mikey..._she mouthed.

He looked back down at her and stroked the side of her face gently as she closed her eyes. Although he had yet to summon the bravery needed to tell her how he felt about her, a small part of him hoped that she would already sense it.

"Want me to read you a story? Or put on a movie? Get you anything?" he asked quickly, trying to change the subject to suppress his sudden desire to kiss her.

She smiled and shook her head while reaching up to undo her bun. Soft pink waves cascaded around her shoulders, and Michelangelo swallowed hard at the sight. His cheeks grew warmer by the second, and he found himself unable to tear his eyes away from the girl in his arms.

_Stop being so nice to me. _She wrote playfully on a new page. _You're going to make me not want to leave..._

"That's the plan, babe..." he said half-jokingly. Michelangelo was about to make another joke, but stopped short when he felt a slight ache strain against his swelling heart.

* * *

_**[In a bedroom down the hall]**_

Large, toned arms encircled Aya's waist and pulled the freshly showered kunoichi away from the dresser. She moaned softly as she felt Donatello's hot mouth against the back of her shoulders, kissing the skin between her bare shoulder blades. "Donnie, p-please...what if Rei comes back and sees us?"

"Mmmm...Leo said he'll text me when he finds her and keep us updated," came the muffled reply vibrating against her back.

She relaxed and closed her eyes, "Sorry, it's just been a really long day, and I just feel so tense from this afternoon..."

"I know a way to help you relax..." a large, wet tongue dragged itself up her spine, causing her knees to buckle. Luckily, his muscular arms were already in place to hold her up and and one hand reached up to gently tugged at the end of the towel tucked into her cleavage. "I should also check to see if you have any injuries while I'm at it..."

"And what if I don't have any new injuries?"

"We'll never know unless we have a thorough examination," Donatello whispered thickly in her ear. "And I intend to be as thorough as you were with me..." The large green fingers untucked the terry cloth corner.

She felt her heart begin to race and leaned back against his firm plastron. "I guess I should follow the doctor's orders then. I am overdue for a physical..."

Donatello growled deeply from behind and let the towel hit the floor.

* * *

Moments after they had both come down from their respective highs, the purple clad turtle looked at the girl laying against his plastron and gently toyed with the ends of her hair. "We got to stop doing this just once a week," he said openly. "It's driving me crazy..."

"Me too," Aya admitted. "But how? I can't just ask to sleep in your room. Everyone will definitely know then."

"So can't we just tell them? I don't want to hide how I feel about you anymore."

The kunoichi blushed and looked up at her partner. "And how do you feel about me?"

"You know!"

She gave him a look that told him to go on.

Donatello sighed and took a deep breath. "Aya, you know I can't get enough of you. I love everything about you, and...I want you to be mine...I want us to be together..." His chocolate brown eyes were bearing into hers, and she noticed he was holding his breath slightly while awaiting her reply.

"Well, I'm glad you said something," she smiled and pressed a small kiss against his cheek. "Because I want the same thing."

"Really?"

"Really."

"So then? Are we...? Officially?"

"Together?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I'd say so-"

"YEAH!" the brainy turtle cheered loudly and fist-pumped into the air. His new girlfriend jumped at his endearing display, but then slowly reeled him in with a passionate kiss.

"Settle down, cowboy." she whispered softly. "Save your energy...because I think I'm ready for round two..."


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

* * *

**CHAPTER 15**

Kaz yelped in pain and dropped the flint in her hand. _"Fuck!" _She clutched her damaged shoulder and cursed at the fact that she couldn't even start a campfire to keep herself warm in her present state.

From above, Raph watched with a mild curiosity. It wasn't hard tracking Kaz to her current location. She was grumbling loud enough for him to simply follow the sound of her distant ranting. Still, he wasn't quite sure how to approach the angry kunoichi at this very moment. While he would have preferred to just knock Kaz over the head and unceremoniously drag her back to the farmhouse, Leo had specifically instructed that he was not to use_any_physical force. Kaz had been physically injured enough as it was, but Raph still found his original idea tempting for the sheer sake of convenience. He absentmindedly played with a toothpick between his teeth while contemplating his next move.

Kaz had just bent down to pick up the flint again when she was suddenly assaulted by an unrelenting spell of dizziness. _Shit...my chakra is running too low, _she finally admitted to herself. Her eyes half-heartedly drifted towards the tree top that Raphael was 'hiding' in; her pride wanted nothing less than to ask for help, but she didn't have a choice. She was running out of energy fast, and her injuries were killing her. Kaz reluctantly drew in a deep breath and called out towards Raphael, "Hey! Are you going to give me a hand with this, or are you gonna stalk me from that tree all night?!"

There was momentary silence and a hesitant rustling of the branches before a Herculean-sized turtle dropped down from the tree with an impressively silent landing that only a true ninja could accomplish. He carried a backpack on one shoulder and casually dusted pine needles off of his shell. "Don't flattah yaself," his voice was gruff and impatient. "I ain't stalkin' ya. Leo jus' sent me ta bring you back to da house."

"That's not gonna happen." She scowled and took a step away from him.

"We'll see 'bout dat." He took a step forward before Michelangelo's parting words entered his brain. _Remember, bro! You can catch more flies with honey! _Ugh. Stupid Mikey. What was he suppose to do with that cliché? Raphael took a step back and crossed his arms over his plastron instead. He would buy some time, since he didn't want her taking off again. "How long you know I was here?" he asked casually.

"Please. I could smell you a mile away." She was keeping her distance, but he could see that she was starting to shiver. As a cold-blooded being, Raphael was usually the first to become susceptible to a chill, but in this case, he deduced that Kaz must have been running low on her energy if the evening cool was affecting her to this extent. He wordlessly picked up the flint and ignited a spark where she had failed. Blowing against the embers, he felt her watching him in silence as he fanned the flames."Dat shoulder don't look so good," he noted between breaths.

"Yea, Rei popped it out of the j-joint when she w-went apeshit-t." She pursed her lips together to stop her teeth from chattering. She shut her eyes tightly and turned her head away from him.

"Let me take a look." The sizeable flames began to dance on their own.

"You? Last time I ch-checked, Donnie was the family d-doctor."

"And da last time I checked, you dunno everything 'bout us." His glowing amber gaze was fixed upon her, and his expression said, _Drop the sass, and get your ass over here._

"Fair enough," she mustered her last bit of energy to roll her eyes and act nonchalant about the whole thing, while trying her best to walk over to the unamused turtle without stumbling. As she sat down, she instantly felt the pleasant warmth of the fire wash over her body. His enormous hands settled on her arm and shoulder like a comforter, and she winced slightly when he rotated the joint in a direction that it fought against.

"Ya ready?" His grip was firmer upon her now.

"Wait...what are you going to..."

_CRACK!_

"Aaaugh!" Kaz cried out from the sudden shock. "You asshole!" She spun around and socked him in the arm. "I **wasn't ready **for that!"

"Good," a self-satisfied grin spread over his face. "And for ya information, dat's not da proper way ta say thanks." Kaz stopped short and tentatively rolled her shoulder back and forth. She was immediately surprised by how much range the joint had gained by his one simple technique. Yes, there was still some pain, but it was definitely not as debilitating as it had been before.

Raphael rummaged through the backpack he was carrying, pulled out a sling and slung it over her shoulder. "Try not ta move it til da swellin' goes down," hes said, toothpick bobbing up and down with his every word.

Kaz was somewhat speechless. She had noted that her and Raph had gotten off to a rocky start ever since Splinter declared their first sparring session to be a draw. And it also probably didn't help that she frequently enjoyed ruffling his feathers to get a rise out of him, or stealing his beer and food to replenish her chakra after some of the more intense healing sessions. Still, she was secretly impressed by the wonderful job he did with her shoulder. _Never judge a book by its musclebound cover,_she mused to herself.

Suddenly, her stomach growled loudly enough to startle a family of deer in the distance. Her cheeks felt hot, and she heard the turtle beside her chuckle before tossing her a large spam musubi that he procured from his backpack. "Even dough you're annoyin' and ungrateful as hell...don't say I neva gave ya nuttin."

Kaz caught the musubi and unwrapped it quickly. Her chakra was running so low that her vision was starting to blur, and she _hated _that feeling. The last thing she wanted was to do was pass out in front of Raphael. Knowing him, he would definitely drag her back to the house and never let her live it down.

Raph watched on with great amusement as the hungry kunoichi devoured the musubi. "Damn... don't forget ta breathe woman..."

She shot him a dirty look, and he laughed out loud. It only took a few more seconds for the entire musubi to disappear completely, and Kaz sighed at the minor relief the snack had provided. "You're still an asshole...but thanks...," she muttered the last part extra quietly.

"Come again?" he was openly smirking at her now, amber eyes flickering playfully by the light of the fire.

"Don't be a dick," she warned. "You heard me."

His grin didn't fade. Generally, it was Kaz who liked to badger and tease Raph all day, but tonight it was Raphael who got to enjoy being on the other side. He couldn't deny that he was getting a kick out of seeing the usually brassy, smart-mouthed kunoichi fail to hide her embarrassment at being in his debt. "Nope, didn't hear ya," he continued to push.

This earned him another punch to the arm, which usually would have hurt had she been at her full capacity, but she was so clearly weakened from the training with Rei that this was just plain entertaining to the rock-like turtle. She looked almost cute when she was angry, he decided before catching himself and shaking his head. "It's gettin' late. We betta head back."

Kaz frowned and her charcoal grey eyes darkened. "I told you that isn't going to happen. I'm so pissed, I might kill Rei if I see her."

"Well, dat won't be a problem since Rei's gone."

"What? What happened?"

"She left. Right afta you called her a psycho. She ran off." He shrugged and moved the toothpick to the other side of his mouth. "So ya comin' or what?"

"And everyone just let her leave?"

"Nah. Leo is tryin' to track her down now, but who knows..." he raised an eye ridge at the concern painted over Kaz's expression. "What's da problem? Thought ya didn't wanna be 'round her no more?"

"I don't...but...I didn't want her running off by herself. Fuck...with Tatsu and Karai still out there, this is the last thing we need..."

"Dats what I said...but ya no betta yaself. Runnin' off like dis..."

"Raph, don't you start too, okay? I just needed a break. All the meltdowns, endless healing sessions, and unrealistic expectations...It's a lot of pressure, and a medic-nin has her limits too, you know?"

"Unrealistic expectations?"

"Everyone thinks we're just going to hit up Tatsu and Karai, take them down, and I'll switch Karai and Rei's eyeballs to make everything peachy keen again."

"And dat's not the plan?"

"No! That's not how it works..." the exasperate girl shook her head. "See...I don't know how to take Rei's _byakugan _out of Karai and safely transfer them back to her body. They don't teach you dark jutsu like that at the academy. Removing body parts from fellow ninja to steal their bloodline jutsu is a crime punishable by death. The only person here who knows how to transfer a bloodline jutsu via surgery is Tatsu, and that's only because he's been studying and developing this illegal technique for years. So I'm pretty sure I can speak for everyone when I say that I wouldn't trust him to perform any more 'operations' on Rei."

Raph wordlessly nodded at the predicament.

"And that's why I was so frustrated with Aya. I don't know if she was too shocked by the sight of Rei when we found her, but for once, Miss Braniac didn't think it thought before she ordered me to heal Karai's eyes in Rei's body. She didn't realize that as a medic-nin, I can only heal physical wounds...not psychological ones. I can't imagine the torture that Rei goes through every time she looks into her reflection and sees the eyes of her tormentor. What if we can't get her _byakugan _back? What if Rei stays like this forever...? What will happen to our team?" she trailed off and put her face into her palms.

She didn't keep track of how much time had passed before she felt a heavy arm rest itself against her back. Raphael's usual gruff voice carried a slightly gentler tone. "Listen...I'm not gonna act like I know all da answers, but I know dat it ain't gonna get betta if you leave. None of my problems eva got solved by runnin' away. And hell, you could be right. Aya coulda made a bad call, but it didn't come from a bad place. She's worried 'bout Rei too. Hatin' her is not gonna help ya. The only way we can find answers to all dose questions is if we stick togetha...alright?"

Kaz looked up from her hands and turned to face the forest green turtle with the red bandanna It was the first time since Rei had gone missing that anyone had taken the time to listen to her worries. Sure, his speech wasn't going to win him an Oscar any time soon, but he was trying, and it was exactly what she needed to hear at that very moment. "Thanks, Raph..." she said more clearly this time, resting a hand gently against his thigh.

He cleared his throat and stood up. "Okay, 'nuff of the afta school special crap. Let's go back. Da fire's dead, and even I'm gettin' cold."

Kaz smiled at his reaction. She liked that about him; he acted tough, but if you knew what buttons to push, he'd get easily flustered too. The kunoichi stood and gingerly took a couple of steps; the snack had helped, but she wasn't looking forward to the long hike back on her low energy reserves. It was then that Raph made an audible thunking noise as he hit his knuckles against the back of his own shell. "Hop on," he ordered.

"No way. I don't _need _to be carried," Kaz asserted proudly.

"No, but I don' t_need _ta freeze my tail off while I wait for you ta limp all da way back," he grumbled.

"...Fine, but only because _you _get cold too easily." She climbed onto his back and listened to him noisily exhale through his nostrils with evident frustration.

"Don't be annoyin'!" he growled as he lifted her higher onto his shell with an excessive ease.

"Don't be a jerk then!"

"Ungrateful..."

"Asshole..."

"I'll drop ya from a tree."

"I'll shred your face!"

…...

**_[Back at the farmhouse an hour later]_**

"We will have to meditate with her more often," Leonardo whispered as he watched an unconscious Rei lay upon the couch.

"Yes, my son...that much is for certain. I can feel great instability from her energy. Miss Rei is plagued by much fear and confusion." His father stroked his beard with careful consideration. "You said she adamantly refused to return when you found her?"

Leo nodded. "She kept saying that she was a danger to everyone, so she needed to stay away from us. Honestly, she was pretty hysterical when I found her, so I couldn't understand everything that she was trying to say. I heard something about the agency not wanting to keep her if she didn't have her _byakugan_? Her clan would reject her? And something about executions? I was just trying to calm her down, but then she said she would be forced to fight me if I tried to bring her back, and well...here we are..." The turtle gently adjusted the blanket over Rei. "I hope she isn't too upset when she wakes up..."

"Well, we will be here and prepared if that happens," Splinter replied. "You did what you had to, my son. Her team will thank you for it as well."

Just then the front door creaked open and Raphael appeared with a tired looking kunoichi on his back. "We're back," Kaz whispered quietly as to not awaken the entire house. "Sorry about earlier Leo and Master Splinter...I shouldn't have..._Rei?!_"

The auburn haired kunoichi quickly climbed down from a grumbling Raphael and ran to the teammate's side. "Is...is she...?"

"She's fine," Leonardo assured. "She put up a quite a fight though. I had to knock her out to bring her back."

"Hypocrite," Raph muttered loudly enough to earn a dagger like glare form his older brother.

"Rei?...Rei?" Kaz gently shook her friend and ran her fingers through her long chestnut hair. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said all those things. I didn't mean it. I didn't want you to leave...we need you on this team. Please wake up..."

The brunette kunoichi stirred softly and slowly opened her eyes, "Kaz?"

"Rei!"

"Is this a dream?" She gently reached up and touched her teammates face, running her thumb across a wet cheek. "The last thing I remember was Leonardo...I think he struck me in the head..."

"Wutta gentleman..." Raphael mused aloud to his brother's chagrin.

"It's fine now, Rei." Kaz continued, ignoring Raph's unsolicited commentary. "Leo brought you back, and we're all happy to have you back."

"Yes, very happy Miss Rei," Master Splinter added while offering her a cup of green tea. "I suspect we ought to have a meditation session tomorrow and perhaps you can tell me what has been ailing your mind?"

Rei nodded and cautiously sat up, rubbing the back of her head and cringing at the bump that she felt.

"Um..sorry about that, Rei..." Leo stepped forward nervously. "But you didn't leave me with much choice..."

"It's okay, Leonardo, I shouldn't have attacked you first. I apologize as well, and I hope you can forgive me once again?" She twisted the ends of her burnt kimono sleeves anxiously.

"Of course," the eldest turtle said with a smile.

"Well dis is all very touching, but if anyone needs me I'll be havin' a beer." Raph said indifferently before trudging off to the kitchen.

…...

**_[Fifteen minutes later, on the porch...]_**

"I can't believe ya, Fearless," Raph snickered between swigs of his brew. "Goin' off on me 'bout not beatin' up Kaz to bring her back and dat's _exactly _what ya do ta Rei. Man, you are so full of it!"

"Hey, you weren't there, Raph." Leo poured himself a cup of hot sake and slowly savored its aroma after his long day. "Rei had one of my katanas at one point. You would have done the same thing."

His brother shook his head. "I dunno, Leo. I think I did a pretty good job with Kaz. Did all dat honey stuff Mikey was talkin' bout. You should try it sometime instead of breakin' women's noses and heads." He grinned jokingly at the blue clad turtle and slapped him hard on the back of his shell.

"Ugh...speaking of women...there are too many in this house," Leonardo sighed as he refilled his sake cup.

"Can't argue with ya there," Raph clinked his beer bottle against Leo's cup, and both brothers threw back their drinks with equal gusto.

"At least they seem to be getting along now," the older of the two observed. "So let's just hope it stays that way."

"Amen, brotha." Raph reached for his second bottle of beer and looked towards the barn. "Hey, have ya seen Donnie? Think he'd wanna beer?"

"I don't know, Raph. He's probably working late again, and you know how he gets when he's interrupt-"

Two piercing screams suddenly echoed through the house, followed by the sound of a door slamming hard. The brothers looked at each other briefly before dropping their drinks to run upstairs.

Raph bounded to the top of the stairs first, followed closely by Leonardo and from the end of the hall, a sleepy Michelangelo emerged with an even drowsier Ish in tow.

"What da hell is goin' on here?!" Raphael thundered.

Kaz and Rei were both standing wide-eyed in front of Aya's room. Kaz was staring at the back of the shut door, completely frozen with her hands clasped over her mouth, and Rei looked like she was going to hyperventilate. "Y-your b-brother," Rei started in between gasps of air. "H-he's...Aya...in the...doing...things...saw everything...!"

"What? What are you saying?" Unable to decipher what Rei was saying for the second time of the day, Leo looked impatiently towards Kaz, who just continued to stare blankly at the door.

All at once the door flung open again, and Aya emerged, wrapped tightly in her short lavender robe, hair tousled wildly and cheeks incredibly flushed. "I'm_so_sorry, Kaz! Rei! Oh my god! I didn't mean for you guys to see us like that. You should have knocked -"

"We _did _knock!" Kaz finally bursted. "You were just too _busy_ to hear us! What the hell, Aya?! GOD! I can still smell his _scent all over you!_" Kaz clamped her hands over her nose again and backed away slowly.

The turtles were exchanging highly awkward and embarrassed looks with one another when finally their missing brother appeared, tying his purple bandanna back onto his head. "Kaz...Rei...Really, truly, so very, _very _sorry about this...It was completely my fault, I can assure you. I should have told everyone earlier -" Donatello stopped short when he noticed his brothers down the hall, slack-jawed and eyes bugging out at the sight of him.

"Noooo waaaay!" Michelangelo pointed, as he hopped up and down from where he stood. "Dudes...they were...DUDE!"

"WE GET IT MIKEY," Leo and Raph roared in unison.

The eldest turtle spun back around and refocused on his beet-red brother, "Donnie, I think we need to have a family meeting. _Now_."


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

* * *

**CHAPTER 16**

Four brothers sat in Michelangelo and Raphael's room, marinating in the silence of what had to be the most awkward meeting in the history of Hamato family meetings. Leonardo rubbed the top of his beak and sighed in frustration, "_Weeks?! _Donnie, you've been with her for _weeks?_How did none of us know?!"

"Er...my ninja stealth training has paid off in spades?" the brainy turtle muttered nervously in attempts to break the tension.

"Not stealthy enough if you ask Kaz and Rei," his older brother replied pointedly. "And what happened to all that talk about not wanting to get hurt and not doing anything rash?"

"I really _wasn't _going to do anything, Leo. I didn't even think I had a chance with Aya...I mean ,_look at her! _But it was all so surprising when she actually liked me back, and well...things just felt right...and..."

"Bet it felt more than alright," Michelangelo waggled his eyeridges suggestively and received a hard whack against the head from Raphael.

"Shush, Mikey. Adults are talkin'..."

"Then why didn't you tell us sooner?" Leonardo pressed on, ignoring the other two brothers. "What was the point of hiding it from your own family?"

"Listen, I wanted to tell you guys. There just wasn't ever a good time. There was drama happening at every turn, and I didn't want to make any sudden announcements that would fuel the weird mix of emotions."

"And what would you call your little 'incident' just now? That certainly seemed to fuel a lot of emotions. You know how embarrassing that must have been for Kaz and Rei to walk in on you while you were...in the...and seeing..." Leo feigned a cough and trailed off.

"Dude, it's called _sixty-nining..._" Michelangelo whispered helpfully.

"_**I know what it's called!**_" his older brother snapped angrily.

"Sorry bro..."

Leonardo sighed wearily and looked towards his red-faced brother. Donatello had hardly looked anyone in the eye for more than two seconds during this entire family meeting. The poor turtle had to reveal some rather personal information in the course of their discussion, and clearly he was mortified beyond belief. For that, Leo truly did feel bad and he purposefully spoke in a calmer tone as he continued the questioning, "Does Splinter know?"

The purple clad turtle shook his head. "No, but I promise I'll tell him first thing tomorrow...but can we not mention anything to him about the details of tonight?" His expression was one of desperation.

Leonardo nodded. "He probably heard the screaming though..."

"Ooh! We'll say Raph saw a spider!" Michelangelo suggested eagerly.

"Or we'll say Mikey got his shell kicked," Raphael growled angrily before landing a punch on Michelangelo's arm.

"Ooooow!"

"Both of you - quiet!" Leonardo ordered before shaking his head in disbelief. "In all seriousness though, have you thought about will happen if and when Aya returns to Japan, Donnie? I just don't want you to get hurt."

His brother nodded sullenly. "Yea, and I'm hoping we'll find a way to work it out by then..."

"Geez...jus' give it a rest, Leo," Raphael unexpectedly grumbled. "You're seriously bummin' us all out. Askin' all da wrong questions..."

Leonardo looked towards his irritated brother and raised both eye ridges quizzically.

Raphael put one heavy hand on the back of Donatello's carapace. "Ya happy wit her, Don?"

A small, but genuine smile broke across his brother's face as he replied. "Well...yes, of course I am..."

"Good!" Raphael stated affirmatively, as he shoved a bottle of beer into his brainy brother's hand. " Den we're happy for ya too! Aren't we, Leo?" He narrowed his eyes at his eldest brother, who opened his mouth slightly before nodding in a half-confused surprise.

"End of da interrogation. Time ta drink!" Raph raised his bottle triumphantly. "Ta Geek Boy gettin' some action!"

Donatello found himself laughing for the first time since the meeting had begun and suddenly found the need to drain his beer to ease his nerves.

"Actually, I had a question..." Michelangelo interjected quietly with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Um...go for it, Mikey.." Donatello hesitantly responded as he set down his empty bottle.

Baby blue eyes dilated with hope and a huge smile appeared to match, "Donnie? Can you teach me how to get a girlfriend too?"

* * *

"And you promise to never run off like that again?" Rei's voice could not mask the hurt that she was feeling when addressing Kaz.

"Only if you promise to do the same," her teammate said with a smirk on her face.

The two finally embraced, and Aya sighed with complete relief. They weren't going to kill each other after all. Her team and family was whole again, and it had taken a lot to get there. The girls had just sat through one hell of a discussion, but it was a long time coming. Tears were shed, harsh words were exchanged, but more importantly, truths were shared. Vulnerabilities were revealed, and somehow it all came together. Everyone agreed that Kaz should not have had to bear the pressure of healing Rei on her own. Everyone would be involved in finding a way to get her byakugan back safely. At the same time, Rei would take a break from physical sparring and concentrate solely on controlling her inner turmoil with Master Splinter. And finally, no resentment was to be held against Aya's decision to preserve Rei's eyesight.

Ish and Aya joined in the group embrace, and Kaz suddenly chuckled.

"Is something particularly funny, Kaz?" Rei asked, pulling away from the amused kunoichi.

"Just look at us!" Kaz's fangs peaked out beneath her smile, and she shook her head. "We're such a mess. So much for one of Tokyo's few top-ranked all-female kunoichi teams, right? I can't even heal myself right now. Rei has pretty much attacked every single person in this house minus Master Splinter. Ish is a mute. And Aya got laid by a giant turtle."

"Hey! I'll have you know we haven't gone that far!" Aya protested zealously, while her other teammates joined in with Kaz's laughter.

"Oh really? So our virginal girl remains somewhat chaste?" Kaz had always been relentless about teasing anyone and everyone she'd ever met. Her teammates were no exception.

Aya blushed deeply and nodded. "To be honest, I don't know if we really even can."

"I may hate myself for asking this," Rei began. "But why do you say that?"

"Well...mainly because of the anatomical size difference."

Kaz and Rei looked at each other and bursted out laughing once again. Ish looked thoroughly confused and gestured wildly with her hands. Aya turned three shades of red when she realized that Ish was trying to guess her boyfriend's size. The cotton-candied kunoichi grinned and set her hands a certain length apart.

"Bigger," Kaz said plainly without batting an eye.

"Kaz! No!" Aya panicked when she knew Kaz was going to do this to get back at her.

Ish raised both pink eyebrows in surprise and set her hands even further apart.

"Bigger."

Ish started to giggle as she expanded the distance between her palms even further.

"That's about right," Kaz said with an evil little grin. "And I'd say, it was about this wide around, wouldn't you Aya?" She made a rude gesture with her hands, and it sent the violet-eyed kunoichi rolling on the floor with a silent laughter.

Aya pulled off the wet towel wrapped around her head and threw it at Kaz. "God, I hate you _both!_"

Rei shook her head, but was glad to see her team fall back into their usual dynamics. Ish held up her notebook and showed Aya what she had scrawled -_That's not so bad. You could totally work with what he's got..._

"And er...what's that suppose to mean?" Aya felt her trepidation rise as she asked.

"It means you're a pain in the ass, but maybe you'll be less of one if you finally got laid." Kaz said, reaching into her nightstand and tossing her blushing friend a small plastic squeeze bottle.

Aya read the label and glared at her brazen teammate. "Why do you even have this here?!"

"Why are you even surprised anymore?" Rei sighed with exasperation as she stood. "Should we get back to our room and go to bed then? It's been a long day..."

"You sure you want to go back in there, Rei? It smells like a bio-hazard," Kaz commented openly and Rei outwardly cringed.

"Luckily, I haven't been..._blessed _with such an acute sense of smell like you," the kunoichi forced herself to retort while trying to mentally erase the images that she had seen earlier in the night.

"Be nice, Kaz. I took that second shower just for you!" Aya grumbled as the two kunoichi headed towards the door.

"No need to thank me for the gift!" their fanged teammate called out loudly just as they exited.

From across the hall, the door handle to Raphael and Michelangelo's room jiggled before it also opened, revealing an emerging Donatello and Leonardo. Both were smiling and Raphael and Michelangelo could be heard laughing about something from within the room.

As they passed each other in the hall, Rei and Leonardo nodded politely towards one another.

"Good night, Rei."

"Good night, Leo."

Aya gently grabbed Donatello by the wrist in passing and pulled him briefly towards her. "How did it go?" she whispered quickly in his ear.

"Awkward, but good," he said softly. "And you?"

The kunoichi didn't say a word, but her cheeks grew rosy, and she slipped something covertly into his hand before briskly disappearing into her room behind Rei.

Donatello stared at the small, oblong shaped bottle full of clear liquid in his hand. _Astro-Slide X: Personal Lubricant._


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT. My original characters' skills and origins are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.**

**A/N**:Major fluff warning. As usual, the full smutty version is available at TMNT Lair or Adultfanfiction under "comics" and my handle "tmntfangirl84." Links on my author's profile.

* * *

**CHAPTER 17**

Time had passed, and bodies had healed. The sun shined brightly on a new day, as the last spring blossoms fell off the trees to make way for the sweet fruits of summer. Ish closed her eyes and basked in warmth of the sunlight penetrating her skin. A light wind tickled the back of her neck and sent pink wisps of hair flying past her ivory cheeks. Lifting a woven basket with one hand, the young woman began to hum a dulcet tune as she continued to pick ripened garden strawberries at the back of the farmhouse.

"That sounds pretty," an affable voice noted from behind. She spun around to see the familiar turtle with the orange bandana grinning at her. He was wearing a ratty old straw hat and leaning against the side of the tool shed.

"Thanks. It's an old song that Ito taught me," Ish replied with a gentle smile. "Where'd you get that ridiculous hat?"

"Oh this? It's Donnie's old hat. Found it in the attic. Don't you like it, babe?" he tipped the straw brim and sauntered over towards her.

"Makes you look like a hillbilly," the kunoichi laughed "Ya gonna help me pick these strawberries, Pa?"

"Maybe, Ma..." he replied, picked a white daisy from the ground and stuck the stem end of it between his teeth, twirling the flower around in his mouth.

Ish giggled at the goofy image before turning back around to resume her strawberry picking. "How was training today?"

Mikey squatted beside her and plucking ripened fruit off the vine. "It was okay. Leo's still at it though. He went to the lake to practice his katas some more and get some time to meditate."

"Oh! That's where Rei is today too. She went for a swim after her meditation session with Splinter...HEY!" Ish snatched an extra large, extra plump strawberry out of Michelangelo's hand as it made its way towards his juice-stained mouth. "Don't eat all the good ones! I need enough to make Splinter a pie tonight! He said he was craving a strawberry since they're in season."

"Aaw, but I'm hungry _now_," the impatient turtle whined. "Just want one more?" Azure eyes betrayed a hint of mischief, and before Ish could escape, the strapping turtle playfully tackled her to the soft, dry grass.

Ish squealed with a mixture of panic and delight as large fingers fluttered expertly along her side, tickling her mercilessly in attempts to get her to forgo the giant strawberry. A faint blush illuminated the girl's cheeks as she noticed Michelangelo's large, light green biceps flex over her. Ever since the night he cuddled her to sleep, she couldn't stop thinking about him in a strange new light. His baby blues, the charming smile, and the way he could make her laugh so effortlessly had always been qualities she liked about him, but now butterflies had begun to brew in her belly. She noticed that he had become inexplicably bolder in his daily interactions with her. Suddenly, he wasn't just openly complimenting her on the usual things- her cooking, taste in music and movies, but now it was the way she did her hair differently one morning, how 'yummy' she smelled when she tried a new perfume, and other little comments that made her blush unexpectedly.

"Mikey! Mikey!" she gasped between tickles, squirming beneath his muscular frame. "Stop! I'm wearing a dress! You'll make it ride up!"

Michelangelo had just successfully seized her hand with the juicy red fruit when he heard this. He froze immediately and slowly scanned down her cotton white sundress. It had a pattern of small pastel pink wildflowers that dotted the fabric to compliment her hair. As his eyes fell on the eyelet hem, he had noticed that it had indeed ridden up, bunching at the tops of her exposed thighs. He swallowed hard and glanced at the amethyst-eyed girl looking back at him. She was breathing hard from the ticklefest, and this image was only encouraging the a familiar constraint developing in his lower plates. "Sorry babe..." he managed hoarsely. "Let me help fix that for you."

Calloused fingertips grazed gently against her legs as he gently pulled her dress down. She bit down on her lower lip to suppress the sudden urge to moan.

Michelangelo looked at the gorgeous girl pinned beneath him -biting her lip, cheeks flushed, breathing deeply. She was absolutely enticing, and her skin was irresistibly soft. He subconsciously licked his lips, unable to tear his eyes away.

"Was this what you wanted?" Ish asked softly as she traced the strawberry lightly over his lips. His eyes became slightly hooded, and he nodded slowly before taking the strawberry into his mouth, relishing its tart and sweet taste directly from her hand. Juices dripped down his chin and between her fingers as a ravenous Michelangelo devoured the fruit completely. And just when Ish had thought he had consumed the last morsel, a large and heavy tongue shot out to meticulously clean the spaces between her fingers. It was too sensual for the young kunoichi, and a small moan escaped her lips."Oooh Mikey! Mmmm...what are you...?"

"Just cleaning up," he answered thickly between licks.

"Ooh-okay..." her body relaxed, but she kept her eyes on him, mesmerized by the way his mouth worked along her digits. He gradually opened his eyes, and darkened blue pupils met her violet ones; he was watching for her reaction as he devoured her. "H-how does it taste?" Ish squeaked when he began to lap up the juice stains on the pulse of her wrist.

"Very tasty..." he growled. "But I'm still hungry..."

Ish inhaled deeply and dragged her thumb lightly across his lower lip. The turtle responded by taking the entire thumb into his mouth and sucking on it gently.

"Mikey..." She whimpered his name, which caused him to smile. Seeing the usually fun-loving turtle so suddenly aroused was affecting the kunoichi in ways she had never imagined. "I think I may have something for you then..."

Michelangelo paused his ministrations to allow her to pull his face towards hers. She smelled like sunshine and strawberries, but before he could take the time to enjoy it, she pressed her lips against his in a fiery kiss. The turtle moaned excitedly into her mouth as the skillful kunoichi demonstrated what she could do with her tongue. Minutes passed and when they finally broke for air, Michelangelo had torn out a fistful of grass with one hand and crushed a pile of ripe strawberries with the other.

"Aaaw..." Ish frowned slightly when she saw the mess he had made. "Now how am I suppose to make the pie?"

"S'okay...just make... a chocolate... one," the turtle panted, lost in nuzzling the soft skin of her neck.

Ish chuckled and placed a loving kiss on the top of his bald, green head. "It was probably my fault. I shouldn't have gotten you all worked up like that."

"No, mmm... I like it..." Michelangelo murmured into her neck, moving back up to kiss her delicate ear lobes. "I like you..."

She gasped softly, enjoying what she was hearing as well his gentle nipping. "I like you too..." she finally whispered against his cheek.

"Babe?"

"Yea?" Her breath caught as his strong hands gripped her hips.

"Can I keep you?" his tone was playful, but gave way to the underlying longing in his voice.

Ish sighed happily, the color of her cheeks were the same shade as her locks, "Oh, Mikey...of course you can."

It was all the eager turtle needed to hear before capturing her lips in a fervent kiss.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Donatello tried to wrap his head around a radioactive green syringe that Aya was showing him. "While I was out training this morning, you went through my files and read all the old research that Leatherhead did on the chemical reaction that triggered my monster mutation years ago?"

Aya nodded nervously, "I didn't mean to see the file. You said I could use your laptop, so I just accidently came upon-"

"And you also read through those files before reading through the files on the antidote that LH developed to cure me?"

The guilty kunoichi gulped and nodded.

"Then you transferred all that information onto your personal drive, matched it up against your previous research on Tatsu's DNA, and reversed engineered a serum that you believe can inhibit his ability to absorb people's chakra?"

"...Are you mad?"

"Mad? No. In love? Yes..." He smirked before wrapping his fibrous arms around her waist. He tilted his head and bent down to plant a slow and sensuous kiss on her lips.

Aya melted against him and she returned the affection. "Mmmm...careful, Donnie..."

"I've already locked the door."

"No, I'm still holding a syringe filled with devastating chemicals?"

"Oh, right..." he flashed her a nervous smile and allowed her to set the precious experiment results back in its proper place. He was glad that he had been able to transformed the barn into a makeshift lab for the both of them. It was their new favorite place, for it had ample space for them to work on their own projects, while still allowing them the privacy to be together for..._other reasons_.

No sooner had Aya finished locking up her sample, she felt Donatello's hands pull her back against his plastron. "Now where were we?" he asked, voice dripping with want.

"About to talk about the benefits of an intravenous application versus airborne distribution?" She teased, leaning back into the desirous kisses he was planting on the curve of her neck.

"Intravenous is best. Airborne application may have unintended side effects on everyone's chakra and abilities, since I doubt you've actually tested this serum on a live subject," he muttered quickly, hands deftly unbuttoning the front of her lab coat. "And no, that's definitely not where we were heading...so guess again."

Aya smirked as the lab coat pooled around her legs. One large, green hand pulled her ivory top over her head, while the other reached up her black skirt, unrolling her stockings down around her knees. Ever since Splinter had given them his blessing on their new relationship, Donatello had really come out of his shell, so to speak. The barn/lab was one of their favorite places to explore each other's boundaries, and soon it became evident to Aya that Donatello had quite the sexual appetite.

...

By the end of it, Donatello was gasping for breath and seeing stars. It took the last of his strength to roll off of his beautiful mate and collapse against the haystack. Aya curled up against his plastron and smiled shyly.

"I love you baby..." he uttered dreamily between breaths; black-brown eyes slowly lightened back into their usual warm chocolate brown. "I wish I could have got you to-"

She placed two fingers against his lips and cut him off. "I love you too, Donnie. We'll have other chances...I'm just happy I got to be your first."

"I want you to be my only, Aya," he answered earnestly, pulling her into a secure embrace. "I don't ever want anyone else, but you..."


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT. My original characters' ninjutsu skills are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 18**

Rei unraveled her waist-length, dark brown hair from her chignon. She stared off into the beautiful lake before her and felt the blades of grass sway in the warm winds, gently tickling her feet. She scanned her peaceful surroundings for signs of any company, and aside from a nearby forest rabbit, she confirmed that she was otherwise alone. Smiling to herself, the young woman eagerly untied her obi and let her kimono fall off her shoulders. She had been desperately wanting to go for a swim to cleanse her spirit and thoughts, and the present good weather was just the opportunity that she had been looking for.

Rei Hana had never been a share-all kind of girl, and she had been surprising herself lately when she realized how much of her personal fears and anxieties that she had been sharing with both Master Splinter and Leonardo. Ever since her little runaway incident, the three had been meditating regularly together, and Rei began to find it difficult to continue to carry the burden of her clan's secret on her own. The shame and dishonor of allowing Karai and Tatsu to steal her _byakugan _carried ramifications that were rather overwhelming. Splinter and Leonardo were both taken aback when she told them that the punishment for failing to protect the secrets of the Hana clan's_ byakugan_ was death. Her own clan would execute the young woman for revealing the secrets of their bloodline jutsu, as required by tradition and honor.

She remembered showing Leonardo a marking in the center of her back - a tattoo of a sakura blossom that was an indicator of a protective seal. If Rei had died during the course of Tatsu's torture, the seal would have effectively inactivated her _byakugan_, making it impossible for anyone to transplant the eye or use any of its secrets through dissection. However, Tatsu cruelly bypassed the seal's power by keeping her alive throughout the entire ordeal.

Rei blinked hard and inhaled sharply, trying to suppress the feelings of rage that threatened to fill her chest. She finished undressing and dipped her toes into the calm waters. It was chilly - perfect for the fire she felt burning within. She took a deep breath and dove in head first.

* * *

Leonardo winced as he rubbed his intensely sore neck. He wouldn't openly admit it, but Raph had really done a number on him during training today. His hot-headed brother had made it clear that he was going stir-crazy from the lack of big city action. He needed a face-off with Tatsu and Karai, and the combination of boredom and pent-up aggression led Raph to do what he did best - take it out on his eldest brother in a no holds barred sparring session.

The aching Leo cracked his neck and tried to relaxed when he finally saw the lake. Its placid surface glistened under the golden rays of the sun. Stretching by the water, he began his cool down katas. He was only a few stances in when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye - a large towel on top of a neatly folded kimono, parked next to a pair of traditional geta. _Rei's clothes,_he recognized instantly. _But where is Rei?_

Breaking through the calm surface of the lake, a curvaceous silhouette suddenly emerged, whipping a slick curtain of hair back and sending a constellation of water droplets across the afternoon skyline. Feminine arms rose over the head and delicate hands smoothed wet locks along a shapely neck and back. Rei had been located. Naked as the day she was born.

"Leonardo?!"

The hypnotized turtle slapped a large green hand over his own eyes. "Rei! I didn't know you were here!" He felt his face turn hot and spun around to face the trees.

"Where are your brothers?" her voice was laced with anxiety. "Are they here as well?"

"No, no, it's just me. Just came here to meditate."

"Oh..." A silence and then some splashing could be heard. "I came here to meditate too...please don't turn around!"

"I won't!" he assured her, cheeks burning at this point.

There were sounds of hurried, wet footsteps behind him. He could hear her airing out a towel and shuffling around to put on her clothes.

"Were you meditating under water?" Leonardo asked with eyes still closed.

"Y-yes," came a shivering reply. "It helps me think more clearly."

Leonardo had the sudden urge to turn around and offer her a jacket, before he realized that he was wearing nothing but a belt and katana sheaths. "Oh...um...well, I'll have to try that sometime," he managed awkwardly.

"You may turn around now," Rei stated when all the shuffling had finally ceased.

Leonardo turned around and carefully opened one eye. Stood before him was a rather refreshed and happy looking Rei. Dressed in a sapphire blue kimono with a white sakura flower pattern, Leonardo noticed how much healthier she'd been looking recently. Rei's face had filled back out. Gone was the harsh bone structure that starvation and torture had left her, and back were her naturally round cheeks and delicate chin. He felt himself begin to blush again when he remembered to what extent she had really filled out when he saw her break out from the water. He mentally scolded himself, and absentmindedly rubbed his neck again."Hey, sorry about earlier..."

"It's alright," the kunoichi visibly blushed. "Are you injured?"

"Think I just landed funny during training today. No big deal. I just need to stretch it out."

"No," Rei replied sternly. "The neck has several critical pressure points that could affect how the rest of your body functions. Even if one nerve is off kilter, it could severely reduce your ability to fight. We can't risk that in times like these."

Leonardo was taken aback by the conviction in her tone. "Well...true, but..."

"May I see?" she carefully took a step towards the turtle, and their eyes met. Rei observed the hesitation and confusion that immediately flashed behind his eyes as Leo took an unconscious step backwards. "I just wanted to see if I could help alleviate the pain," she stated honestly, eyes glancing elsewhere in exasperation.

Leonardo blinked a few times and shook his head. He was immediately disappointed with himself. He could logically articulate the fact that Rei was not Karai, despite having her eyes, but why couldn't he stop raising his defenses whenever she looked directly at him?

"It's alright," Rei conceded. "I can understand that it would be difficult to trust a girl who has attacked you in a blind rage on multiple occasions."

_God, if only she knew the full extent of it_, Leonardo thought to himself. "No, it's not that, Rei. I don't mind you taking a look if you think you can help."

The kunoichi nodded and went around to stand behind him. Although Rei was by no means a short girl with her 5'7'' height, she found that a standing Leonardo was still too tall for her to inspect the alleged crick in his neck. "Sit," she ordered matter-of-factly, and smiled when the turtle immediately obeyed without protest.

"Many think that those who were born with byakugan and trained in the style of combat known as Gentle Fist only know how to use pressure points to debilitate men," Rei said as soft fingers traced down his neck.

"Not the best phrase to start with when I'm showing you my trust..." Leonardo responded half-jokingly.

Rei's laugh was a genuinely filled with amusement. "No," the young woman continued to explain. "What I was trying say was that I can use my knowledge about pressure points to alleviate tension and injuries."

Nimble fingers pinched a nerve at the back of the turtle's head and worked their way down several pressure points towards the base of his neck. Leonardo felt his eyes close as his shoulders instantly relaxed.

"See?" she seemed pleased by his reaction. Her fingertips moved to the right side of his neck and felt around. "It hurts here, doesn't it?"

"Mm," came a short acknowledgement.

Rei's fingers moved skillfully along the problem area. Leonardo felt his head drop as he stifled a groan of pleasure. How did she do that? Rei was literally pushing all the right buttons, and the soreness in his neck was already beginning to lift.

Moments passed, and Rei continued to work silently, while Leonardo reaped the benefits that her years training could provide. The soreness had disappeared after some time, but the dedicated female ninja continued to workout knots and tensions that he didn't even know he had along his shoulders. Leo was being treated to an unexpected massage, and he couldn't deny that he was enjoying it immensely. The only problem he had was trying to stop his mind from drifting back to the vision of Rei in the water. She was so painfully beautiful, and he was so painfully confused. _You always have to like the complicated and conflicted types, don't you?_he admonished himself.

"Leonardo?" Rei's voice was soft and pleasant, and her fingers continued to knead his broad and well-defined shoulders.

"Mm?"

"Thank you."

"For?"

"For trusting me. For helping me get better and trying to understand what I've been going through."

He closed his eyes and reached up to stop her hands momentarily from working on his bicep. Her movements were making him feel like jelly, and he needed all of his focus to say something important. "Rei, I'm trying to understand the pressure and anxiety that you must be under, but I will never understand why your family would be willing to end your life for something that Tatsu did to you."

"The Hana clan is one of the oldest ninja clans. It is a clan known for its nobility, ability, and wealth, but it is not known for its compassion. We are bound by a strict code of honor and tradition."

"I just don't see the honor in killing your own child."

"My family would not simply see me as a just a child. I am a grown woman, a powerful kunoichi that failed to protect the secrets of _byakugan _and allowed it to fall into enemy hands. The enemy must be destroyed, and I would be made an example for others to show the importance of keeping the bloodline secrets to protect the clan and for the greater good of the ninja world."

Leonardo sighed and shook his head. "Family is still family."

"You can say that because you have a kind and strong family."

"You can have that kind of family too. You just might have to look outside of your clan for it."

"Let's work on looking for my _byakugan _first," she smiled gently. The turtle nodded in agreement and closed his eyes again. Rei gently pulled her hand out from beneath his larger, three-fingered one, and slid down to work on his arms. They were the arms of an expert swordsman - taut with muscles and knots in all the places that one would have if he lived by the sword.

After a while, a sudden _ping _snapped both ninja from their reveries. Leonardo reached into his belt and pulled out his phone, and smiled at what he read. "Master Splinter wants us to head back to the house. Lunch time."

"Master Splinter can text?"

"Sort of..." he held up his phone so she could read the screen.

_**hello leo;nardo. this is Father. pleas come home for Lunch. there3 may be pie!**_

"Oh my goodness!" Rei covered her mouth to muffle her laughter. "He is adorable..."

"I know. Donnie's been trying to teach him how to use his phone for years, but Don also loves to upgrade our phones every year too. Makes it hard for Splinter to keep up."

"Well, we better get going then," she said with a wink. "Wouldn't want to miss pie."

Leonardo smiled back, and a new sense of ease washed over him.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT. My original characters' ninjutsu skills are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 19**

Aya's eyelids felt heavy as she listened to the sound of Rei's even breathing from across the room. She couldn't believe that they were all returning to New York City the very next morning. After she had broke the news of her latest scientific discovery to the group, it was decided that enough healing and progress had been made, and it was high time to hunt down Tatsu and Karai.

Sinking into her feathersoft pillow, the emerald-eyed kunoichi had just about entered dreamland when a thought slipped into her mind. Did I put a temperature lock on the the serum!? Aya had always been prone to getting jitters the night before any big mission, and this meant indulging her semi-obsessive need to double-check everything in preparation.

The young woman reluctantly dragged herself out of bed, and felt around in the dark for her robe. Making contact with the first soft article of clothing she found, she quickly wrapped it around her body and hustled downstairs. It wasn't until she was outside that she realized that she was wearing a kimono. _Oh well. Rei will just have to get over it_, she grumbled to herself as she tried to get the barn to doors open.

An instant sharp sting seared through her arm. Her hand immediately brushed over the affected extremity and felt a cold, hard foreign object poking out of her bicep. _Huh...that's not right,_she thought dizzily, pulling out the metal dart that had lodged itself into her flesh. "What the...?" the sound of her own voice was suddenly distant and unfamiliar.

Two figures in black appeared before of her, but her vision began to double and blur. She heard muffled voices whisper harshly at one another, and without a warning, everything went dark.

* * *

Master Splinter awoke with a start. The balance of energies in the atmosphere had changed significantly. He rushed over to the bedroom of his two eldest sons. "Leonardo! Donatello!"

The two shot up and instinctively reached for their weapons. "What's going on?" asked Donatello, half asleep and half ready to fight.

"I am not quite sure, my sons, but I felt a deeply negative energy. Something is very wrong."

It was then that Kaz appeared at the door, wearing light blue pajamas and a deeply concerned expression. "Hey you guys, I think I picked up on two unfamiliar male scents coming from around the house. I think we may have some company."

"You two follow her," Splinter instructed. "I will wake the others."

The brothers nodded and trailed the expert tracker as she flew downstairs and headed directly towards the barn. The three scanned the area, but no one was in sight. "They're gone," Kaz finally noted as she sniffed the night air. I smell gasoline from a vehicle too, so I think they must have driven away...towards the east."

"I think they forgot something," Donatello observed, showing Kaz a metal dart found in the dirt. "Can you pick up anything from this?"

Kaz held her face over the dart, and her nose twitched instantly. Her eyes glowed in the darkness with an unmistakably wolfish quality as she immediately recognized the scent. "Aya's blood," she confirmed. "They've taken her."

* * *

Aya felt a hard kick to the back of her knees, sending body to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Her bound arms and legs made breaking the fall impossible, and the heavy bag over her head did nothing to help the situation.

"You've brought her to me?" a steely female voice question from a distance. Deliberate footsteps echoed against the tiled floor, making it sound as if they were in some sort of facility. The air felt positively cold and sterile.

"Yes, Mistress," a nervous male voice attested.

"Show me."

Bright lights pierced Aya's eyes as the bag was roughly pulled off. She blinked a few times and looked around. She was indeed in some sort of laboratory, but it wasn't the same one at the Food Headquarters; this looked much more advanced. Two Foot soldiers flanked her side, and straight ahead a kunoichi dressed in black knee-high boots with metal shin guards approached. Aya's gaze rose to see matching chest plates, sharply angled shoulder guards, and most disturbingly of all -Rei's light-grey eyes on the scowling face. _This must be Karai_, she thought to herself.

"You fools!" roared the armored woman. "You have brought me the wrong kunoichi!"

Both soldiers simultaneously dropped to their knees and bowed their heads. "A-apologies, Mistress Karai! We thought she was the right one. She was wearing the exact kimono that you had described from your vision."

"I asked you both to bring me the woman who holds the secrets to perfecting the _byakugan's_technique, not her dress." A boot harshly toed Aya in the ribs, and the bound kunoichi winced at the pain. "What am I suppose to do with this one?!"

Aya began to feel sick, as she sensed an unpleasant and chilling chakra nearing their presence. An icy laughter entered the room, and Tatsu appeared as its source. "Oh, I can think of a few things..."

Karai glared at the tall, green-haired man in his signature black kimono. "Tatsu and I have business to discuss," she addressed the Foot failures quickly without taking her eyes off the older man. "I will deal with you imbeciles later. Get out of my sight before I change my mind!" The two bumbling men hurriedly scrambled away without a second to spare.

"This one... would she have any valuable information about the_ byakugan_?" Karai asked Tatsu impatiently.

"No, only Rei would have such information. Her clan tends to be very private when it comes to guarding their precious bloodline jutsu."

"Then let us dispose of her if she is no use. Her team and the turtles will be looking for her."

"Ah-ah," Tatsu held up a hand abruptly. "Just because she is of no value to you does not mean that she is of no use to me. This girl and I have unfinished business. Isn't that so,_ Aya Asano_?"

Aya's skin crawled as Tatsu gripped her by her chin, his creepy blood-red pupils face just inches away from face.

"Go fuck yourself, Tatsu," the emerald-eyed kunoichi spat in his face. "I want nothing to do with you."

"We will see about that," Tatsu replied, still smiling as he wiped the spit off his right cheek. "Karai? Prepare yourself to face her teammates and those green freaks."

"I'll call for my men-"

"No," Tatsu interrupted. "I've seen what your so-called Foot ninja can do, and I am wholly unimpressed. We cannot afford to fail this time, so we will be sending in _my _men...SHO! JUN!"

The laboratory doors flung open and two ninja in black uniforms strutted in. One was the size of a barge, with light blue skin and spikey orange hair that slanted off the top of his head. The other was also tall, but extremely thin and gaunt in appearance. Unlike his partner, he had normal human fleshtones and bleach blonde hair. Both ninja had visible deformities that looked like residual burn scars across their arms and on the sides of their face.

Aya gasped as she slowly began to recognize the two men. "No, it can't be..." she whispered beneath her breath.

"Oh yes, but it is." Tatsu affirmed with a vicious smile. "You thought your silly little team killed them too in that explosion last year? Wrong! You see I am a very resourceful man, Aya. I salvaged what I could from the ashes, and I found two of my most faithful staff - gravely injured, but not quite deceased. So with the help of my scientific genius, I not only saved them, but improved them greatly."

Aya shook her head in horror, "I know perfectly well what you do to your 'patients,' Tatsu. You don't save them. You do nothing but extinguish their last shred of humanity and turn them into monsters like you!"

"Ah, but great power comes at a great price," his voice slithered into her ear. "Now where were we? Oh, that's right..._Karai!_"

The leader of the Foot clan glowered at him and her voice betrayed visible reluctance when she responded. "Yes?"

"Find me the kunoichi and those turtle freaks."

Karai nodded and formed a tight hand seal, _"Byakugan!"_The veins surrounding the side of her eyes immediately protruded into a fleshy spiderweb pattern; light-grey pupils disappeared, and the entire eyeball turned white. The young woman stood still, holding the stance for what seemed like minutes without movement.

"Now, now my pet...we haven't all day," Tatsu muttered.

"Do not rush me," Karai growled through her gritted teeth. "This is still relatively...There! I've located them!"

Aya's stomach clenched into a hard knot. Her worst fears had manifested; Karai had not only received the _byakugan_transfer well, but she had learned how to use it in a relatively short period of time.

"They're not that far away," the new _byakugan _user continued. "They're heading east towards this laboratory. They have the rat with them."

Tatsu lifted a dark green eyebrow, "Rat?"

"It's the turtles' father and sensei," Karai explained only to be met with the sound of a hearty guffaw.

"Perfect! A literal lab rat to join this one!" Tatsu howled with a maniacal laughter as he callously lifted Aya by her arm. He dragged her into a dark room nearby and threw her into a human-sized cage with electronic locks. The barred doors slammed shut automatically, and the psychotic man grinned evilly at his prisoner. "Don't you worry your sweet little face. I have _special_plans for you."

Aya kicked at the bars and struggled against her tight rope bindings. "I will destroy you when I get out of here!" she scowled.

"No, no my dear. Let's get one thing straight," Tatsu hissed, pressing his face near the cage and exposing his yellowed teeth. "The only thing that will be destroyed are your friends. And you will get to watch before you die."


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT. My original characters' ninjutsu skills are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 20**

Donatello swerved the van wildly down the country road, whizzing past extended branches and ignoring potholes. The sound of his brothers' shells rolling around and slamming into the sides of the vehicle did nothing to slow the livid turtle down. He was seeing red and that wasn't going to change until he saw Aya again.

"Calm down!" Kaz gasped, as the wind from the rolled-down windows whipped her hair into her face. "You're going way too fast for me to even identify any scents!"

"Seriously, bro!" Michelangelo wailed from the back. "You're driving like Splinter!"

"I am, as they say, _right here_." Splinter replied with a hint of indignation. "My son, please give Miss Kazu a chance to properly track. Do not let anger cloud your judgment." The old master usually reserved this last piece of advice for his most impatient son, Raphael, but on the rare occasions that he had to say this to Donatello, he knew the situation could only be dire.

An angry growl emitted from the aggravated turtle as he slammed on breaks right before a fork in the road.

Ignoring the aches and groaning of his brothers, Donatello turned to Kaz. "Which way?" he demanded brusquely. It was the first sentence that he had uttered since he realized Aya had been kidnapped. His staunch silence had been unsettling to the group, as if a calm before a storm.

The tracker kunoichi furrowed her brows in concentration. "Hang on. There are different scents coming from both directions. I just have to find one that I recognize...Where do these roads go?"

"The road to the right leads us back to the city, and the road to the left goes to an abandoned government lab. I'm thinking we should go right, since Tatsu is working with Karai; they're probably heading back to Foot Headquarters as we speak."

"No. Wait... I'm picking up on three distinct scents. They're heading our way from the direction of the lab." Kaz's nose scrunched up. "And they're coming fast, and I think one of them-"

A crushing boom bore down from overhead, jostling the occupants inside the van like a box of gumballs. The gang looked up to see a gigantic blue fist bearing down right through the metal roof.

"Everybody out!" Leonardo cried.

Standing on top of the van were a smirking Karai and two emotionless henchman. "Hello, Leonardo. Long time no see..." the leader of the Foot winked, flaunting her new light grey pupils.

"Karai..." Leonardo whispered, unsheathing his double katana. "Tell us where you have taken Aya!"

"And return my _byakugan_!" Rei glowered.

The armored kunoichi threw back her head with a hearty laugh. "Fools! You have no bargaining power here. I will be the one making the demands! Surrender Rei, and _perhaps _I will spare your pathetic lives."

"Never," the blue clad turtle replied solemnly, raising his swords.

The kunoichi sighed and protracted metal claws reminiscent of her father's. "You were always a stubborn one, Leonardo. Let's make it quick then. Jun, take out their medic! Sho, eliminate the rat!"

The blue-skinned man-beast known as Jun bounded towards Kaz, but a sai caught him in the back of his meaty neck before he could knock out the medic-nin. The orange-haired man roared, as Raphael jumped on top of him to retrieve his bloodied weapon. "Hey ugly! Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"

The musclebound turtle backflipped off the enemy and landed a powerful left-hook onto his thick jaw. Jun stumbled back, but didn't fall. "Tough guy, eh?" Raphael smirked. "Dis is gonna be good..." The two titans clashed against each other with such force that the earth shook beneath them. A blue boulder of a fist came crashing down towards the red bandana turtle, who moved in time to avoid knuckles striking the dirt, creating a sizeable crater on its point of contact. "Whoa, buddy! Whatchu been eating?!"

"Watch out, Raph! He's got chakra enhanced strength!" Kaz warned from the sidelines.

"No kidding!" Michelangelo cut in, expertly spinning his nunchucks. "He might be strong, but is he as fast as the BATTLE NEXUS-"

"Quiet, Mikey!" Raph ran past his brother and sent a kick into the back of Jun's head. "Less yappin' more slappin'!"

...

As the battle raged on it was Rei and Leonardo against Karai, Mikey and Raph versus Jun, and Donatello and Ish against Sho. Master Splinter was unfortunately down for the count. The old rat grimaced as he grabbed his injured side; age had weakened him, and his peak years had long passed. The battle with Sho was only served as a harsh reminder of this reality. Splinter watched on as his sons put up an impressive fight. They were much older now, and stronger and even faster than even he had been in his prime. He felt both a mixture of both pride and humility. Since when had he stopped protecting them and it became the other way around?

Donatello and Ish guarded Splinter from Sho, but their opponent was deadly fast. The blonde skeleton of a man almost instantaneously appeared behind Donatello and struck him hard in the shell. The quick-thinking turtle flew forward on impact, but used that momentum to flip towards a tree, push off of the trunk, and fly back towards Sho. "He's even faster than Mikey!" Donatello observed aloud, whipping his bo staff at the enemy's head.

"It's his swift release technique," Ish panted as two of her shadow clones blocked Sho from inching too close to Master Splinter. "Most taijutsu can't touch him, but he's not invincible." She spat out a jet of flames towards the enemy while he was distracted by another clone. The flames visibly burned the lightning-fast man, but not long enough to cause significant damage. Then all at once, there was an audible gasp and the sound of a walking staff breaking in two.

"SPLINTER! NO!" Donatello shouted.

Kaz appeared out of nowhere in a moment's notice, blue auras glowing from her palms as she held them over the blood stains of the old rat's maroon robes. "Someone cover me!" she ordered. "Hang in there, Master Splinter..."

"Rei!" Leonardo grunted as he pressed his katana against Karai's. "Help Donnie and Ish! I'll take care of this!"

The chestnut haired kunoichi hesitated, but nevertheless obeyed. With _byakugan_, Karai had been able to see where her and Leo were focusing their internal energy and guess their next moves and inner weaknesses. Leonardo had recounted stories of when he used to go toe-to-toe with Karai and defeat her on several occasions, but in her new enhanced condition, it took both Leo and Rei to have a fair match.

"Just you and me, Leonardo?" Karai laughed as she took another swipe at the turtle. "Like old times..."

"You'll never get away with this, Karai. I won't let you hurt my family and friends."

"It's only fair though," Karai said bitterly, blocking a slash from Leo's katana. "A father for a father. Your friends for all my men that you've killed. Aya will only be the first..."

"Hand her over, Karai... It doesn't have to be this way!" Leonardo winced as the tip of her blade grazed the skin on top of his plastron.

"Never! Tatsu likely has her on his operating table already!"

...

Meanwhile, Ish struggled to sit up, clutching her ankle in pain. Sho had taken a cheap shot, and something definitely did not feel right.

"I'll get to you in a second," Kaz managed as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Splinter groaned beneath her hands, but the wound on his chest was rapidly healing. Kaz only hoped that he had not lost enough blood to lose consciousness.

"No, just focus on Splinter first," Ish ground out as she crawled in front of the medic and her patient. "I'm here to protect you both..."

Donatello had just caught Sho in the back of the head with his bo staff while he was attacking one of Ish's clones. When a flash of teal and mint green kimono flew by him. "Donatello, you have to go!" Rei's voice rang out from all the commotion. "It's Aya! I heard Karai say that Tatsu may already have her on his operating table. She must be at the abandoned lab. Go to her!"

Donatello gaze turned steely. He didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

**_[At the lab]_**

"You know, you really have absolutely no special abilities or unique chakra for me to play with," Tatsu sighed regretfully as his icy fingertips ghosted over Aya's bare arm. The kunoichi felt her stomach churn as she shivered in her grey pajama shorts and a pink cotton camisole. She tried to inconspicuously scan the environment for a way out. In her bound hands, she clutched onto a single shuriken that she managed to pilfer off of Tatsu's robes by feigning an erratic struggle while he transferred her from the cage to the chair that she was currently tied to.

Aya's breath caught when Tatsu pulled out a long blade from his sleeve. "Do you know how it feels, my dear? To be scarred, disfigured, and left for dead? To have your great body of research and some of your best colleagues disintegrated in a singular explosion? Shall I repay you for all that you've done to me?"

The tip of the knife ran over her neck slowly, lightly scratching the surface of the skin, but Aya remained unshaken. "Great research? That's not what I would call kidnapping ninja and playing Dr. Frankenstein with their body parts for the black market."

Tatsu merely chortled as he pressed the point of his blade directly over Aya's cheek. "Oh, I wouldn't expect the likes of _you _to know anything of greatness. After all, just look at yourself. What are you without your little bombs and toys? Just a helpless little girl. Yes, my research was funded by my trade among _very eager buyers, _but the science itself was rather_ cutting edge_." The knife bore down on the kunoichi's ivory skin and opened a gash from cheek to chin. Aya bit down on her lip hard to muffle a scream, and Tatsu smirked at her pained expression.

"Most people believe that ninja are so strong and powerful, but at the end of the day they're just human beings, aren't they? And humans are so easy to read, Aya. They are always insecure; even the most powerful want _more _power, because humans are innately greedy. Enhanced chakra, special jutsu abilities, political power, economic power, yadda, yadda, yadda- oh, it's all so painfully similar! Nothing ever changes, but my research brought me the kind of power that oversaw this constant struggle."

Aya raised her eyebrows in confusion. _What the hell is this guy rambling on about?_

"You know as well as I that historically, hidden villages of ninja were hired to help shoguns war against one another, and that even ninja villages warred against each other. The struggle for power has never changed. Even though time has forced our ninja society to evolve from separate quaint, hidden villages and to adapt to the modern world -working for the 'all-united' Agency in the big cities, it's just a ridiculous farce. You think you are so noble? Working for the Agency to 'keep peace' in Japan? Your missions are still dictated by the ploys and financing of politicians and corporations. You are nothing but pawns in a world of power play and greed. But my science...no, my _genius_... has given me the key to control the players in these silly games."

Aya felt warm blood spill over from her face and onto her neck, as Tatsu dug his blade into her cheek in the opposite direction, marring her skin with a large x-mark. "Working for Karai and the Foot Clan then? That's what you call achieving the ultimate power, Tatsu?" she managed through gritted teeth.

"No, my dear. They are but pawns in my own rise to power. Just like all my other patients and creations. I hold in my hands the ability to bestow any jutsu upon anyone. I offer the world what they want- unimaginable power. I can change destinies by changing your genetics. Can you imagine the demand for that? Let me tell you, it's quite _high, _and I am the only source. Think about that." Aya flinched slightly as Tatsu slapped the flat side of the blade against her wounded face with a few casual pats. "And you know, I was doing just fine in our homeland - making all the right connections with some of the darkest, most powerful ninja, until your little team ruined my entire operation - making me an outcast in our ninja world, tainting my name, leaving me for dead. So imagine my glee when I serendipitously found a new set of greedy, power-hungry ninja known as the Foot. It was my second opportunity to rebuilding my body of work - in a new land with new specimens. Karai needs me to rebuild and enhance her Foot soldiers much in the way that I've enhanced her. She knows I'm the only one who can give her what she wants, but what she _doesn't _know is that she's just provided me a whole host of new specimens and will be funding my every whim."

"And when your subjects become too powerful? When they turn on their creator?" Aya asked skeptically.

Tatsu pulled out a microchip from his other sleeve. "Oh you see, my sweet, that _won't _happen. When you make a deal with Tatsu to go under the knife, you awaken with not only the utmost power, but with the utmost loyalty..._to me_." He tapped the right side of his temple with the tip of the bloodied knife, giggled disturbingly to himself before immediately frowning. "The first prototype was implanted into Rei Hana's head, but it didn't take for some reason. It would have been so much easier controlling her instead of the less-gifted Karai, but now I've finally perfected my microchip!"

Aya scowled deeply. The needle points and scars on the sides of Rei's temples when they found her. It started to make sense. "You're chip was driving Rei _mad_, you monster!"

Tatsu sighed wearily. "I'm not a bad man, Aya. I know you think I am now, but I assure you I am not. And soon, when we get to know each other a little more intimately, you'll start to understand...I'll give you all the powers you never had, and you will serve me faithfully just like the rest, my little scar-faced wench."

Tatsu's words had a way of making Aya feel physically ill. However, it was during the villain's incredibly long monologue, that the emerald-eyed woman noticed something that gave her an incredible surge of hope -Tatsu's computer. It's modern design sat at the far corner of the room, and she recognized it right away because it had the same design as the equipment he had used back in Japan. And currently, the computer stuck out sore thumb among all the abandoned, outdated equipment in the facility.

Tatsu was undoubtedly a psychopath, but he still prized himself a scientist, and as a fellow scientist, Aya knew that documenting research was a high priority. You can't prove a theory if you didn't have recorded evidence/support, and everybody loved an an experiment you could repeated and built upon. As such, Tatsu's computer could very well contain information on the procedures he used to transfer Rei's _byakugan _into Karai, and that could be very useful for a reverse procedure.

Tatsu's voice was suddenly grim when he noticed Aya seemingly zone out, "Enough talk now. You stay right here, while I gather the tools for your first operation." The cruel man chuckled softly to himself and walked out of the room.

Aya immediately started to saw off the ropes on her wrists with the edge of the shuriken. She breathed in deeply to remain calm and closed her eyes to concentrate on her movements. The ropes fell from her wrists and the kunoichi skillfully freed herself from the chair in record time. She had just reached the computer when she felt a kunai held against her throat, "Not so fast, my tricky girl...I thought I told you to stay put," Tatsu's voice purring in her ear.

"Get away from her!" It was a familiar voice and the aura of chakra that came from its owner sent Aya's heart soaring.

"One more step, and I'll cut her throat." Tatsu hissed as he spun around to show Donatello the kunai pressed firmly against the kunoichi's neck.

The purple clad turtle narrowed his eyes and stood with a death grip on his bo staff. "What do you want, Tatsu?"

"Just a young, energetic subject to run a few experiments on," Tatsu feigned innocently as the kunai cut deeper into Aya's neck, drawing a faint layer of blood.

"Then take me instead," Donatello offered without hesitation. "I'll be your subject."

"You?"

"Any scientist worth his salt would be die to get his hands on mutant ninja turtle. Our blood and mutation could lead to endless possibilities in the world of genetics and enhancements. We have alien substance running through our veins. You can't find that anywhere, not even in your society of ninja in Japan. So let the girl go; she's just a human."

_No, Donnie! What are you doing?! _Aya panicked to herself, heart thundering in her chest.

"How very curious," Tatsu commented dubiously while looking back and forth between the struggling kunoichi in his arms and the turtle. "But why would you sacrifice yourself - oh ho ho! Silly of me to ask!" The man in the black robes lowered his voice and whispered softly in Aya's ear. "Could it be true? Could this _thing have a little crush on you? Let's test out my theory, shall we?" _Tatsu grinned diabolically and stuck his tongue out to lick the unscarred side of Aya's face lasciviously while maintaining eye contact with Donatello.

"

I said_ don't touch her!_" the turtle growled dangerously as he took an immediately step forward. Tatsu jutted the kunai further into Aya's neck, making her whimper and choke. Donatello stopped dead in his tracks and bared his teeth in evident frustration.

Tatsu howled with laughter. "Oh! What a naughty girl, you've been Aya. Playing with this animal's..._heart_. Shall I do it then? Shall I give him what he wants? Take him instead? What an impressive specimen he would be in my collection! And I don't think I've ever worked a turtle before... let alone one mutated from alien substances!" Tatsu's blood red eyes flickered greedily as he took in Donatello's form. "Yes, impressive indeed..."

"No..." Aya choked out, as the pressure from the weapon against her throat made it difficult for her to speak. "Please...Donnie..."

"Drop the bo," Tatsu ordered Donatello with a smirk. "Drop the bo and step over here -Donnie, was it? What a charming name for a turtle. Come here, and I'll free the girl."

The bo staff was instantaneously dropped, but Aya began to feel light-headed. Tatsu was slowly absorbing her chakra. _He'll take us both, _she realized. _He'll absorb enough chakra for me to pass out, and then he'll operate on us both_!

"D-donnie...no...he's..." her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Hurry my dear boy! Or the poor girl dies!"

There was a blur of movements and a sudden thud as Aya hit the floor; she felt incredibly weak, but she refused to black out. A fuzzy vision of an olive green turtle suddenly struggling in Tatsu's hold, stirred something within Aya. With a burst of anger, she willed her remaining strength to take the shuriken out of her pocket and lodge it hard into Tatsu's foot. There was a piercing scream, and she glanced up to see a gasping Donatello shoving a fluorescent syringe deep into the mad scientist's neck.

"What have you done?!" the man grasped the point of injection and began to heave. He shook his head and stumbled towards Donatello. A boney hand grasped the turtle's shoulder, but Tatsu's smirk slowly faded when the terrapin stood unaffected. "Wh-what?" Tatsu's fingers dug into the large, smooth muscle harder, but to his dismay, nothing happened. "No...this is impossible...I don't believe..."

"Believe it, Tatsu," Donatello said before head-butting the green-haired man and throwing him across the room. A clattering of surgical supplies and equipment crashed down on the mad scientist landed awkwardly on a shelf. "Let's see how powerful you are when you're not leeching off other's energy and abilities!" Donatello powered through with pure anger, delivering strike after devastating strike with his bare hands.

Aya squinted hard. Was this the Donatello that she knew? She had never seen this side of him before -a raw, furious side that executed cold and calculated movements to demolish his enemy. After a while, Tatsu's body went limp, but Donatello continued to pound away at the twitching form. "_Don't...you...ever...touch..her!_" he panted wildly between blows.

Struggling, Aya dragged herself over to him and placed a hand on the raging turtle's leg. "D-donnie...no...please..."

He blinked, breath ragged, and looked at the woman at his feet for a moment before recognition dawned on him. Donatello immediately dropped Tatsu's sagging body to the ground and crouched down over his woman.

"Are you okay?" Donatello asked, his chakra warming again as he held her close against his plastron. "Your face..." he pursed his lips and held a hovering hand tentatively over her injury. "I'll fix this, I promise..."

She looked up at the warm chocolate eyes, filled with worry and regret, but offered a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine, Donnie...just get to Tatsu's computer, and download all the information. There may be something about transferring _byakugan _back to Rei..."

Donatello nodded, but remained unmoved. "Aya, I thought I'd lost you..." he breathed into her neck.

An angular shadow suddenly appeared over his shoulder, and Aya immediately pushed Donatello out of the way to block the descending blade that threatened to come down on his head. There was a snapping noise, the clang of the blade hitting the tiled floor, and a blood curling scream. "I shall not be defeated this way..." Tatsu wheezed at the young woman who had just broken his wrist. "Not by you...not by..."

"A helpless little girl without her toys?" Aya asked quietly. An old laboratory light swung slowly above their heads, capturing Tatsu's bloodied and swollen face with an indisputable air of feeble misery. "Goodbye, Tatsu." It was the last thing he heard before the unpleasant crack that broke his neck.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT. My original characters' ninjutsu skills are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.  
**

**A/N**: The smut in the middle section has been cut out to adhere to FF . net rules. Per usual, if you want the full uncut, gritty, dirty details, it's available at TMNT Lair forum or Adultfanfiction "Comics" and my handle as "tmntfangirl84." See my author's profile for links. Otherwise, enjoy!

* * *

**CHAPTER 21**

Deep in the forest, Leonardo and Karai's battle raged on. It had been some time since their combat had taken them away from the group. Leonardo's right arm was badly damaged, after succumbing to one of Karai's deadly pressure point attacks. With _byakugan_, she knew exactly where to strike to stop his flow of chakra.

The blue-clad turtle dodged a quick swipe from the metal claws and shifted his weight to his left. His left hand gripped his remaining katana tightly. "Karai it doesn't have to be this way..."

"Even after all these years, you still sing the same old tune, Leonardo," Karai said with exasperation while thrusting another claw towards him. Metal blades came perilously close to his flesh, but retracted right as they were about to pierce his skin. Instead, two fingertips extended and punched several pressure points around his shoulder to send a shock of pain through his entire left side. Leo lost the grip on his last katana and fell to his knees.

"This shoulder," Karai dug her fingers in further into the hard green flesh. "It never did quite heal the way you wanted it to. Am I right?"

Leonardo winced. "You ought to remember...you were the one who stabbed me."

"Self-defense. You came at me first."

"The Shredder pushed -"

"Don't you _dare _utter his name!" Leonardo felt a hard slap across the face, and instantly fell back onto his shell. "You have no right after what you did to him!" There was the faintest hint of emotion in her voice.

"You knew the day would come where we would have to make a decision," Leonardo grimaced as razor sharp claws roughly lifted his chin, forcing him to meet a pair of light grey eyes. "You had a way out, Karai. You didn't have to live in his shadow. You could have lived an honorable life."

"Ha! With you? Foolish turtle. How can you preach honor? The Shredder and I may not have agreed on everything, but but he was still my father. He took me in and raised me as his own when no one would. He _saved _me. How young and naive was I to have spared your life on so many occasions only to have you _destroy _him!"

Leonardo tried to move his left arm to reach the fallen katana, but his limbs remained paralyzed. "It was more foolish of me to have believed that you could have ever chosen to live honorably, Karai. You have fallen too far -stealing _byakugan_, working with the likes of Tatsu...you are truly a disappointment."

"No more words, Leonardo. I grow weary of your self-righteous lectures." The leader of the Foot Clan looked almost sad, producing a long knife from her waistband and slipping the tip beneath the ridge of the turtle's plastron. Leonardo hissed sharply as the blade penetrated the area where his skin met his shell. The blade was firmly placed at an angle where one plunge would have pierced his heart. Carefully the kunoichi leaned over him, her face inches away from his. "For old time's sake," the kunoichi murmured softly before pressing her signature red lips against his. Leonardo's eyes widened in shock.

There was a sudden movement, and he heard the unmistakable sound of blade piercing flesh. Yet there was no pain. Leonardo opened his eyes hesitantly and saw a morbidly blank expression of the woman on top of him. Blood was waterfalling out of her mouth and dripping onto his skin. Slowly, the limp body lifted seemingly on its own, and Leonardo could see his katana blade protruding out of her chest. _But how? _He whipped his head to the side and noticed that it was no longer just beyond his reach.

It was at that moment that the skewered corpse of Karai was tossed aside to reveal none other than Rei. The dark-eyed kunoichi dabbed her forehead lightly with the teal sleeve of her cloud patterned kimono. "Are you hurt?" she asked stoically.

"No...I'm fine...just can't..move," the turtle stuttered in a state of shock, while his extremities remained locked and frozen.

"Pressure point attacks. I will retrieve Kaz to help you." She nudged the lifeless body beside her with evident distaste.

Leonardo nodded stiffly. "Thank you for-"

"Sorry to break up your heartfelt reunion."

"What? No,Rei...it isn't like that! There wasn't-"

"I know what I saw, Leonardo," her tone was decidedly cold save for a the hitch in her breath after she said his name. He clenched his eyes shut and felt his heart sink into his stomach. "I will send for Kaz."

* * *

**[Much later, at the lair]**

"How is he?" Michelangelo asked, struggling to sit up in his bed.

"He'll be fine," Ishi replied bringing him a tall glass of water and a few painkillers. "Leonardo's chakra was frozen by pressure point attacks, but it'll return back to normal once Kaz is done reversing the damage."

The youngest turtle nodded staring at the pills put into his hand. "He was so quiet the whole ride back home..."

"I know, but maybe he's just really tired? He fought very hard today. We all did." A cotton candy colored bun flopped over to one side as Ishi handed the pensive turtle his water. "Take these anti-inflammatories and stop moving around so much. You're going to undo all the healing that Kaz did on your ankle if you don't rest. And you know she could only partially heal you to reserve energy to help the others."

Michelangelo frowned, but understood. He took his medicine and was settled back beneath his orange sheets with his attending nurse beside him. "How's everyone one else doing?"

"Aya's face is a little messed up, but Donnie is patching her up as we speak. They're both excited about all the information they ripped off of Tatsu's computer too. Apparently there was a lot of good information in there that can show Kaz how to put _byakugan _back into Rei."

"That's awesome!" the turtle relaxed into his pillow, and allowed one large, three-fingered hand to creep over Ish's smaller one.

"Raph is grumbling about how everyone was treating Leo first, but I think Kaz is really just doing that to get under his skin," Ish used her free hand to reached up and undo her bun and absent-mindedly run her fingers through her hair a few times. "And Splinter is just getting some much needed sleep. He may be a little weak for a few days, but he's definitely going to be back asking for cake and running you boys through some intense training exercises in no time."

Michelangelo chuckled and gave Ish's hand a loving squeeze. "Thanks, babe. I wish I could have been more help though." He drew the hand up over his lips, and pressed a firm kiss to the back of it.

The kunoichi blushed softly and smiled at the turtle laying before her eyes. Even while recovering from unpleasant injuries, Michelangelo remained a thoughtful sweetheart. "You were a _huge _help today! You were amazing against Jun. As strong as Raph is, there was no way he could have taken that monster down without you."

Michelangelo grinned smugly. "Yea, I am pretty awesome, aren't I?"

"Um, only the awesomest!"

He beamed, still clutching her hand intently. "Mmm...babe?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you sleep here tonight?"

Bright blue eyes were glimmering with hope, while her cheeks glowed with a deeper shade of pink, "I dunno, Mikey. Kaz said you needed rest..."

A muscular arm reached around her waist and pulled her down to his level to capture her lips in a passionate kiss. "Kaz doesn't know everything I need..." his whispered quiey when they came up for air.

Ish shivered and lost herself in his firm embrace. His kiss had succeeded in its persuasion, and her body reacted on its own, subconsciously moving underneath the sheets to join him. "Well, maybe just for a little while then," she breathed.

...

After the tidal wave of pleasure had surged and crashed for both, Ish slumped forward and nuzzled the crook of her partner's neck. "How's that leg feeling now?" she giggled softly.

Michelangelo's skin was damp from the exertion, and he was still marveling at how amazing that had all been. "So much better, babe. So much better..."

* * *

Kaz stretched her arms over her head as she walked into Raphael's bedroom. "There you are! How's my last patient feeling?" She flashed her fangs at him in a teasing manner, and the turtle harumphed loudly and crossed his arms across his plastron.

"I'm jus'_dandy_," Raph retorted.

"Not what I heard," Kaz continued to needle him with her sing-songy voice. "Ish said _someone _was complaining that I was paying too much attention to a certain older brother?"

"Leo's not a damn baby. Dunno what all da fuss is 'bout."

Kaz walked over to the forest green turtle laying on his back in bed. Both of his ginormous arms were raised and folded behind the back of his head, and a motorcycle magazine laid spread out over his plastron. "The fuss is that if we didn't reverse the damage, he could have been permanently paralyzed. Not very conducive for a family of ninja, you know?"

"Whateva."

"Alright, let's see _your _damage then." Kaz said, rolling up her sleeves again and setting Raphael's magazine aside. "I healed most of the internal damage from that punch you took from Jun back in the forest, but then I had to work on Mikey's broken leg and ankle before Jun could crush him. I need to make sure there's no more signs of internal bleeding or ruptures of any sort inside of you though."

"I'm fine." Raph insisted again.

"I don't have time for your tough guy act, Raph!" Kaz snapped. She didn't realized how tired she had been until just now. "I've been actively healing people for over 24 hours. If it hurts or feels uncomfortable anywhere, I need to know now! I desperately need sleep, and I don't want to find you dead in the morning!"

Taken aback by Kaz's sudden anger and gravity, a wide-eyed Raphael silently pointed to the middle left plate on his plastron. "...Feels a 'lil bloated here," he muttered reluctantly.

Kaz sighed and put the back of her hand against his forehead. He was warm, which wasn't a good sign. She unraveled one of his wrist guards to take his pulse, and then took his pulse again from his neck as well. Raphael sat there and observed her quietly. Kaz looked downright exhausted. Her wild hair, which he usually found kind of sexy in it's tousled form, was just plain frazzled at this point. Her white medic robes were loosened and slightly disheveled, revealing more of her cleavage than usual. Raphael swallowed hard, and wondered how hard Kaz would punch him if he made any comment about that.

"Glad you told me about this," the medic-nin determined after a few moments of scanning his torso with her palms. "Seems like there's a faint rupture that I didn't quite seal quite completely. Sorry about that."

" 'Sokay, Kazzy," he gave her a half-grin when she glared at him for that stupid nickname. He had only started to call her that to get back at her for using the term 'Raphie' after learning from Michelangelo that Raphael despised that name. "You had ta help Mikey. No one coulda fixed me up a hundred percent under dose circumstances, but you come pretty damn close." He winked at her, and she felt herself blush. Her head spun, and she wasn't sure if it was because of his scent or her lack of chakra. Either way, she knew she had to heal him before any long standing internal damage could be done.

"Sorry about earlier then," she managed while she held the blue auras around her palms over his injured area. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. Ish was suppose to be helping me, but I don't know where she disappeared to, and I'm just super tired from low chakra reserves."

"I gotta idea where Ish went," Raphael muttered while his eyes became shifty.

"Where?"

"Mikey's room."

"What? I sent her up there with anti-inflammatories _hours _ago! I thought by now she would have came back to me or at least to the lab to help Donnie with Aya's wounds."

"Uh...pretty sure she didn't do either of those things." Raph said matter-of-factly.

"How can you be so sure?"

The lumbering turtle cleared his throat and did his best imitation of Ish's voice, which was in all actuality supremely horrendous._"Oh! Yes! Yes! Mikey! Right there! Ooooh!"_

"NO WAY!" Kaz's auras grew a brighter blue and Raph jumped at the surge of energy that he poured into his body.

"Whoa, girly! Watch it!"

"Oops!" Kaz relaxed a bit and shook her head. "Oh man, who would have seen that coming?"

"Everyone. Also, one of the down sides of havin' a room right next ta Mikey's."

"Right?!" Kaz laughed heartily, but stopped suddenly. The room was beginning to spin.

"Kazzy, you alright?"

"Don't call me that," she slurred, rubbing her head. "M' done. Ruptures sealed..."

"Yea, and it feels great, but seriously, you dun look so good..."

"M' fine!" She stood, but instantly collapsed back against his bed. She was zoning in and out, and vaguely recalled feeling two incredibly powerful arms scoop her up and lay her down on the soft mattress.

"Ya lucky I don't gotta hammock no more," she heard a gruff voice grumbling. His scent was intoxicating to her, and up close, she always found it hard to focus. This was_not_helping.

"Huh?" she mumbled disoriented. "Mmm...what are you-"

"Givin' you a place ta sleep so you don't fall on your pretty lil' head."

"You think 'm pretty...?"

A blush ran across the embarrassed turtle's face for a just fleeting moment. _Busted._"I think you need ta sleep. You're hallucinatin'." He tried to pull his arm out from underneath her, but she curled up tighter against him, robe opening further to one side, giving him little more of her tanned cleavage to inspect.

"Hmph!" she relaxed into his embrace and began to drift. "Don't think I'll buy your flattery just cuz you look and... smell so goddam …sexy...mmm..." The kunoichi began to trail off and snuggled up against the curve of his shoulder, inhaling deeply.

A large smirk spread over the turtle with the red bandana. He'd never let Kaz live this one down.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you zrexheartz, aikue, shawnie, dru, mud, and omo for all your reviews! Hope you liked this latest installment! Just a few more chapters (maybe 3) before TNGS wraps up!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT. My original characters' ninjutsu skills are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.**

**A/N:** Bottom half of this chapter has been cut off to follow FF. net rules. If you want to know what happens, please go to The Lair or Adultfanfiction under the Comics section and my handle tmntfangirl84. Links are on my author's profile.

* * *

**CHAPTER 22**

**[Two months later]**

It was too early for dawn to break, but Donatello had already shot up in bed, gasping for air as sweat dripped down the back of his neck. Another nightmare had robbed him of what would have otherwise been peaceful night of sleep, cozied up next to his beautiful girlfriend. His girlfriend. The thought jerked him back to reality, having him glance frantically to his side only to see two sleepy emerald eyes drowsily peering up at him. "Donnie? What's wrong?" she sleepily inquired.

"Aya," the panic-stricken terrapin exhaled with relief. Two sturdy green arms automatically dove under the sheets and pulled the half-awake kunoichi tightly against his plastron. "You're here..." he muttered, burying his beak into her raven hair.

"Another nightmare?" featherlight fingertips reached up to stroke the top of his head soothingly.

Donatello simply nodded and ran his hands up and down her back as if to remind himself that she was real. This was real. "Shh...I'm here," Aya repeated calmingly. "It was just a bad dream."

Gazing down at her angelic features, the enamoured turtle internally winced at the sight of the cross-shaped scar that now marred his lover's cheek. It was a haunting reminder that he had nearly lost her, and may yet still lose her. Seized with an overwhelming sense of worry in his drowsy state, Donatello could no longer stop the words from escaping his lips. "Stay with me," he mumbled against the soft ivory skin of her neck.

"Of course." Aya chuckled softly. "I don't plan on getting up until that alarm clock hits the double digits!"

"No...not like that," he breathed a little harder, placing slow, but sensual kisses along the tender spots of her throat. "Stay with me here in New York...Don't go back to Japan..."

Her laughter ceased, and she froze slightly, torn between the pleasure he was causing her and the gravity of the subject matter. "Donnie, can't we talk about this in the morning? You're still worked up from the nightmare. You need-"

"I need you," he finished soberly, "We've been dancing around this subject long enough."

It was true. After months of avoiding the subject because of Rei's byakugan transfer, the distressing healing process, and all the reports that her team had to give the Agency, there were few distractions left to support delaying the topic any further.

"Donnie, you know I love you, and I really want to stay with you..." Aya sighed.

"But?" he held his breath as if waiting to take a hard punch in the gut.

"But there are so many complicated factors. I've been racking my brains for different scenarios that would allow me to stay here, but what about my team? What about my career? I would need to work if I stayed in New York, and the last time I checked, this place wasn't big on hiring ninja unless you count the Foot. Without work, I would just end up as an eventual burden on you."

"You wouldn't," Donatello eagerly insisted. "I make enough from my patents, software development, and online consulting to support my family and then some. You wouldn't be a burden at all. And with your expertise in science and technology, you could do anything here -any research institute would be lucky to have you! They would be thoroughly impressed by-"

"By what? My degree in explosives and weaponry from a hidden ninjustu academy in Japan that nobody can know about?"

"Well..." the practical turtle faltered. "You could work remotely or online as I do? Invent your own programs and drive your own industry?"

Delicate hands reached up to cup each side of her boyfriend's face. Deep down inside, Aya knew wanted everything that he wanted too - to stay in New York, be together, and have a future. She was in love with Donatello, there was no denying it. She had never met anyone who could inspire her, push her to her limits, and make her feel so comfortable being herself around him at all times. It also helped that beneath Donatello's geeky exterior, she knew exactly how to unleash the emotional, powerful, and sexually aggressive side of him like a devious little secret that only she was privileged to.

Yet he was still her first relationship, and it was intimidating. Being the ever logical, brainy pragmatist, Aya didn't know how to leave everything she knew behind and didn't want to give up the profession she enjoyed. Pride would allow her to do that for no man or turtle. "Donnie," she whispered, tracing his cheek lightly with one of her thumbs, "I don't think that's for me. That's what you do because you love it and are great at it, but I want to continue working as a kunoichi with my team - my family. And I also want to stay here with you because we're a team too now, but I just don't know how to fuse all these crucial components together and make it all happen."

"Maybe your team can stay here too then," he suggested earnestly. "Ish and Mikey are pretty much inseparable from what I can see, and-"

"But how would the Agency even allow that? And on what planet would Rei even agree to that? You see how she is with Leo. There's no way she'd want to stay in New York."

Olive green eye ridges furrowed with disappointment, as Donatello removed his hands from Aya's back and sighed with exasperation. "Would you be happier going back to your old life in Japan then?" The hurt was all too evident in his voice.

"No, that's not what I'm saying at all, " her own frustrations were building. "I really do want to say here, and I'm still trying to work out a way, alright? I can't just make the rash decision to abandon my team and family, quit my career, and seriously not have a sustainable plan for myself in a foreign country..."

"But if you just opened your mind to the possibilities I mentioned-"

"Just give me some time, Donnie. This is so much bigger than saying that just being in the same place is enough."

A deep frown cut across Donatello's pensive face. "I'm not trying to stifle your personal grown, Aya. I'm just trying to help you see your options. Maybe it's the fact that my love just isn't enough."

"Hamato Donatello," the now angry kunoichi emphasized his full name in a tone much harsher than she anticipated. " That is such an unfair statement..."

The turtle remained quiet and extracted himself from her arms all together, rolling over onto the back of his shell and looking away. He pursed his lips as if he was stopping himself from saying something.

"Fine," Aya decided aloud. "If you're going to be like that, then we can't talk about this anymore."

"Fine," he replied tersely, kicking off the sheets. "I'm going to take a shower."

Master Splinter's whiskers twitched with delight as he peered into his large bowl of tonkotsu ramen. The way the halved soft-boiled egg sat perfectly upon a clump of hand-pulled noodles, basking in a piping hot bowl of broth gave rise to sweet nostalgia in the old rat's heart. "Miss Ishi, you've really outdone yourself this time. I haven't had ramen like this since my days in Japan."

"I'm so glad you like it, Master Splinter" Ish replied cheerily as she refilled his cup of tea. "I hope everyone else thinks it's okay too?"

"MmgmsfhGREAT mgnsnfff beb," Michelangelo grunted as he slurped and stuffed himself with reckless abandon.

His eldest brother looked at the orange clad turtle and shook his head wearily. "Ish, this is probably the best ramen I've never had," Leonardo agreed truthfully, as he pushed a stack of napkins towards Michelangelo. He noticed Rei sitting across from him at the table, nearly recovered from her recent successful byakugan transfer surgery. Her silvery eyes were politely cast down upon her bowl as she gracefully drew up a small bunch of noodles to her lips and ate like in the most ladylike manner. "And the tea is very good too, Rei," Leonardo offered.

"Thank you," came the curt reply. Rei's eyes did not so much as flicker to acknowledge the turtle who complimented her, and she simply she took another dainty sip of broth.

Leonardo's grip tightened around his chopsticks for a split second before he a took out his frustrations by consuming the bowl of ramen before him. Moments passed with nothing but awkward slurping noises filling the air and an even more awkward grunting noise and the repetitive sound of a bo staff striking a practice dummy from the dojo.

"Dude, Donnie's been at it all day. Think he's gonna stop and have dinner?" Michelangelo asked curiously, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Ish shrugged, pink brows tilted with slight concern, "Well, I told him that dinner was ready, but it didn't seem like he really wanted to join us-"

"So I can have his ramen too?" A quick slap on the wrist from his girlfriend quickly sent Mikey's large green fingers away from Donatello's bowl and setting.

"Well, I don't know about Donnie," Kaz spoke up. "But I do know that if Raph doesn't get his sorry butt home in 20 seconds, his ramen is gonna be history!" The ravenous kunoichi's fangs glinted underneath the kitchen light as she licked her lips. Kaz's incredible healing powers were matched only by her incredible metabolism, and just as she was about to tuck into the extra large bowl of tasty noodles, a thick Brooklyn accent projected from the direction of the garage. "Drop da chopsticks 'fore I make ya regret it!"

"Aw come on!" Kaz threw the chopsticks down on the table in total disappointment and shot a dirty glare towards the direction of the familiar voice. She nearly choked when she saw the massive turtle emerge from the dark hallway, dressed in his all-black, leather body suit that formerly served as his Nightwatcher uniform. She could see how the muscles bulged from beneath the leather, and it instantly turned her knees to jelly. Beneath one hulking arm, Raphael carried a large, shiny black motorcycle helmet. Amber eyes glinted dangerously at her, and she was instantly tempted to sweep the table clean of all bowls and utensils, tell everyone to get the shell out, and make furniture-breaking love with that musclebound lug until they had reduced the dining table to nothing but wood chips.

Sadly, the auburn haired kunoichi forced herself to resist her fantasy and act natural instead, clearing up the empty bowls and cups and move towards the sink. To her relief, Leonardo started talking, "How was baby Shadow doing today?"

"Aw, she's doin' great, bro," the hulking turtle had a little smile on his face as he set down his helmet on the table. "Casey and April are tired as shell, but they're freakin' ecstatic 'bout bein' parents. Dey said we could go ova dis weekend," He took a giant slurp of ramen and blinked several times at the bowl. "Oh man, Ish, dis is good stuff."

"Thanks, Raph!" the bubbly young woman called out from the sink, helping Kaz rinse out the bowls. Ish turned to Kaz and tittered quietly, "Who knew he'd love kids so much, right? What a softie!"

"Yea, who knew," her friend mumbled nervously as she tried to concentrate on the smell of the dishwashing liquid, instead of the distinctive pheromones radiating off of Raph's body typical after fast motorcycle rides. Who did he think he is? she thought angrily to herself. Marching in here wearing that leather suit...just asking to be unwrapped like a goddamn Christmas present.

"How are things going with Raph?" Ish whispered again, as if reading her teammate's mind.

"What? Nothing. Nothing's going on."

"Aw, c'mon Kazzie...I know something's been up...I see the way you guys have been looking at each other. And I know you've heard me and Mikey as much as we've heard you two..."

A pair of soapy chopsticks were immediately snapped in half with Kaz's bare hands. "W-what?!"

"Shhhh!" Ish shushed mid-giggle. "C'mon...you know, I've heard you creep up into his room in the middle of the night to do...things."

"Things" had certainly changed between Raphael and Kaz ever since the night she collapsed from exhaustion on his bed. In her semi-conscious state, the young kunoichi didn't expect to say all those embarrassing things that she usually just played off as a joke with Raph, and she definitely didn't expect to wake up with their bodies entwined against one another. One thing lead to another and before she knew it, they were having a morning romp that neither had anticipated, but neither could deny relishing.

"Damn their rooms with no doors," Kaz grumbled as she scrubbed a pot with excessive force. "You would think heavy stone walls would be enough but noooo...They should all just get some doors put in!"

"They live in a sewer, Kaz."

"If Donnie can install a hi-tech security system, he can install a freaking door."

"Touché," Ish conceded with a grin. "But back to my question...How are things going? Is it good?" Ish stuck the tip of her tongue out slyly and gave her friend a playful hip check.

"God, almost too good," Kaz whispered as quietly as she could this time. Her eyes darkened as they shifted from side to side. "Do you think it's possible to get addicted to sex?"

Ish nearly cackled, body wracking with silently with laughter. "You mean like you want it all the time from him?"

"Like a drug. He's a beast in the sack."

"Kind of a beast outside of the sack too," Ish noted observantly with a wicked little grin.

It was then that Kaz and Ish noticed that the room had gone completely silent. They were worried that someone had heard something inappropriate, but when they turned around they were both relieved and worried to see everyone staring nervously at Donatello in the doorway. Standing with two pieces of broken bo staff in one hand and a sports towel draped around his neck, the sweaty turtle didn't say much aside from a simple question, "Anyone know where Aya is?"

"She went back to our apartment to give a routine report to the Agency," Rei replied gently. "She'll be back soon." Since the team had recovered the kunoichi's byakugan and the transfer was proven successful using Tatsu's notes, the Agency wanted more updates and had a lot more questions for their team. It become progressively more difficult for the girls to answer their employer without revealing the turtles' identities or location. As such, each teammate took turns going back to their apartment, which was still being paid for by the Agency, to deliver live reports from an unsuspicious setting.

Donatello gave Rei a quick nod in acknowledgment.

"My son, would you like to sit down for dinner?" Master Splinter asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Sorry, sensei. Have a lot of work to do. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the lab." Donatello said distractedly before hurrying off towards the other side of the lair.

In a quiet living room on the 15th floor of a clean and modern apartment complex, Aya Asano sat rigidly on a barstool with her flat, transparent communication device laid face-up on top of the kitchen counter. Projecting from the screen was a 3-D hologram of a stern looking man with short, clean cut, black hair, donning the standard green utility vest and black tunic that most Agency ninja wore. A very small, but noticeable pin with a blue flame emblem was attached to his breast pocket, signifying his supervising rank within the organization.

"Another month?" The holographic man inquired with a raised eyebrow. His expression wasn't that of outrage or disappointment, but rather something else that Aya couldn't quite place. "Team 0771 is requesting yet another month in New York? State your justification."

"With all due respect, Captain Sato," Aya replied unflinchingly. "We've just completed quite a number of significant tasks. We not only rescued our leader, one of the highest ranked kunoichi in the Agency, but also discovered that Tatsu was still alive and planning to redevelop his former operations on a grander scale in the United States. Then there was the matter of the Foot Clan and their leader Karai. We may have eliminated Karai, but the Foot Clan itself is still established, is still a force, and now knows of the existence of our ninja society. They've proven themselves capable of establishing relations with disgraced ninja like Tatsu and wanting to use dark jutsu to enhance their own abilities. You may have already read from our earlier reports that Sho and Jun were alive only as a result of Tatsu's experiments. Though he has also been exterminated, who knows what else he could have created without our knowing? Or what other individuals he may have had ties here with who know about his research?"

Aya may not have had any bloodline or enhanced jutsu abilities, but when it came to bargaining with leaders, the quick-thinking kunoichi always had an upper hand. "Team 0771 would like to stay for another month to monitor the Foot Clan, to see who they select as a new leader, and to check out other relations that Tatsu may have established here. The Foot Clan may become even more dangerous if they have other connections to key players in from the underbelly of our society. The last thing we want is conflict between ninja clans on an international scale."

Captain Sato nodded silently and pursed his lips in contemplation. "You raise strong points, Asano."

"Team 0771 has never asked for extensions at any mission location without good cause. Our track record shows this," Aya pressed further. She hoped that her words would suffice because she knew that the truth of Rei losing her byakugan and needing a transfer would have literally put her leader's head on the chopping block for breaking the Hana clan law. In addition, the fact that both her and Ish had fallen in love with two giant mutant turtles was definitely NOT going to fly as valid justification for the extended stay with the Agency. She knew the turtles were more than capable of monitoring the Foot all on their own, but they mustn't be discovered. She had to supplement her arguments convincingly.

"It is curious, "Captain Sato began. "That although you claim your team has recovered Rei Hana, she has not been the one giving me reports. She is still your assigned leader, is she not?"

"Yes, of course," Aya continued with her trained, unwavering pokerface. "You saw the pictures of Rei's injuries from when we first recovered her." The photos were accurate; her team had documented the injuries Rei received when they first found her, but they made sure her eyes were closed to reveal no injuries of the internal eye, and they made double sure not to submit the pictures until after they had transferred the byakugan back to her successfully. "As you can see from the photos, the injuries were rather severe and that required much time and energy to heal, but I can assure you that your next report will be delivered by Rei personally, in both good health and spirits." She flashed a casual smile to seal the deal.

"I see," the stoic looking hologram suddenly had a twinkle in it's virtual eye. " I have no doubts that Inuzuka would be able to heal her completely. She is a gifted medic."  
Aya nodded suspiciously. "Yes..."

"But I would like to revert back to a prior subject that you brought up."

"Yes?"

"It is curious that you bring up staying longer in New York for all the aforementioned reasons. Based on impressive preliminary your reports, the Agency began its own analysis of the risk factors, all of which you just mentioned, and it was similarly determined that it would be best to have a team to track these developments on a regular basis abroad."

"For more than a month?" Aya prayed that her voice did not betray any signs of longing.

"Absolutely. Much longer than a month. Perhaps on a long-term basis to ensure international security. The Agency would like to branch out to the U.S. eventually. Which brings me to another question."

"Yes?" Aya bit her tongue to stop a hopeful grin that threatened to spread across her face.

"How would your team feel about serving as this team abroad?"

"We will definitely need some time to think about this," her hands were shaking beneath her seat.

"Indeed, but I will need an answer by the next report period, understood?"

"Yes, understood. Thank you, Captain Sato."

"Until next time, Asano." There was a clicking noise and the hologram disappeared before her communication device went dark.

There was a choking sound that erupted from Aya's throat as she tried to laugh and shout joyously at the same time. What the Agency had just offered her and her team, could be the ticket to staying permanently in New York with the love of her life. She immediately grabbed her communicator and texted her favorite turtle. Meet me at the apartment. It's important.

It wasn't long before she heard a familiar tapping pattern from the window of her bedroom. The sound instantly brought a smile to Aya's face as she rushed over to unlatch the window.

"Hey," he said nervously, still standing outside and wearing a long trench coat and fedora. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure...but why are you wearing clothes?" the kunoichi asked in surprise. "Are those jeans?!"

"Wanted to stop by the store to get you these," a hand large hand shot out to bear a bundle of neatly wrapped white roses tied with a silk lavender ribbon. "I'm sorry I was a jerk this morning, Aya..." he mumbled sheepishly.

"Oh Donnie, they're beautiful..." the kunoichi closed her eyes to inhale the sweet floral fragrance. Donatello opened his arms wide and she leaned into his embrace. "I'm sorry I hurt you," she whispered softly. "But I was hurting too..."

"I know," he murmured, "I hate fighting with you..."

"Well maybe this will help," Aya began nervously. "The Agency offered my team and I a permanent base and mission here in New York..."

"What?" Donatello jerked back suddenly and chocolate brown eyes reflected a mixture of excitement and confusion. "Really?!"

"Yea," she whispered, leaning up to nuzzle his neck gently. Powerful hands tightened around her waist. "And you want to accept?" he asked tentatively.

"Well, of course! I wanna stay with you -mmmmf!" His lips were nearly crushing hers as he lifted her off the ground and started marching towards the bed.

"Donnie!" she gasped as he pinned her down against the mattress and hungrily assaulted her lips with his own. "You have to help me convince my teammates to stay toooo...oooh!" His hands were massaging her buttocks through her shorts, and she could feel his large muscles flex beneath his coat.

"It'll get done," his breath was already heavy. "I just needed to hear you say it again..."

"I wanna stay with you," the flushed young woman repeated sweetly.


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT. My original characters' ninjutsu skills are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.**

**A/N:** Please note the bottom half of this chapter has been cut out to abide by the rules here. If you want the full smutty version please go to The Lair or AdultFanfiction (under TMNT "Comics" and my handle "tmntfangirl84"). Links available on my author's profile.

* * *

**CHAPTER 23**

Cloaked by nightfall's shadows, Leonardo leapt undetected from building to building in search of a solution to the inner turmoil that had been plaguing him for the past two months. The tension between him and Rei had been all too evident to his family and her team. Hell, even Donatello had inexplicably began to double recent efforts to try to get the turtle in blue to open up about the subject. Leonardo was initially reticent to open up to any of his family members, but once Donatello employed the extra help of Michelangelo to constantly badger him, the fearless leader was left with little choice but to come clean.

* * *

**(Earlier in the evening)**

"So you see?" an irritated Leonardo finished his story to his two younger brothers. "It doesn't matter how I feel about Rei. After she saw Karai kissing me, she's hated me ever since..."

"Hmmm," Donatello tapped his three fingers against his lab desk. "I see your predicament..."

"Yea, bro. Rough stuff..." Michelangelo frowned. "Have you tried just apologizing?"

"Just apologizing? She doesn't even want to see me, let alone talk," the embittered elder brother noted with disdain.

"Ah, well there's your problem ," grinned Donatello, raising one index finger to mine his epiphany. "My dear brother, you should follow the tried-and-true advice of a one famous William H. Shakespeare."

Eyes behind blue and orange bandanas exchanged brief looks of confusion, cuing the most intellectual of the bunch to inhale deeply and smugly recite a prose:

_"A woman sometimes scorns what best contents her.  
Send her another; never give her o'er;  
For scorn at first makes after-love the more.  
If she do frown, 'tis not in hate of you,  
But rather to beget more love in you:  
If she do chide, 'tis not to have you gone;  
For why, the fools are mad, if left alone.  
Take no repulse, whatever she doth say;  
For 'get you gone,' she doth not mean 'away!'  
Flatter and praise, commend, extol their graces;  
Though ne'er so black, say they have angels' faces.  
That man that hath a tongue, I say, is no man,  
If with his tongue he cannot win a woman."_

"Um...bro?" Michelangelo was the first to speak after a long silence. "Why did this Shakespeare dude write a poem about giving oral?"

Leonardo simply palmed his face as Donatello promptly scolded and explained,"No, Mikey! It means that Leo needs to talk to Rei and win her over with his words, even if she acts like she doesn't want to see him. Jeez...get your mind out of the gutter!"

* * *

Presently, Leonardo stared up at the starless sky and shook his head as he remembered how his brothers got him to embark on his current mission - to find Rei and engage her in a chat to make amends. Still, he exhaled wearily since hours had passed since he had begun his search. It was an unusually chilly and cloudy summer night, and the turtle was starting to lose steam. Doubt had just began to creep into his mind, when suddenly a flowing movement captured his peripheral vision. Leonardo looked up and felt his heart stop momentarily at the sight above him - a lone figure stood still atop a high rise. Her luxurious kimono and long locks billowed beautifully against the wind like a celestial being from an old Japanese folklore. Without moonlight, Rei's hair appeared even darker than the shadows he was currently shrouded in. Only the occasional glint from the silver metallic leaf pattern twinkled against her dark emerald robes, and the bewitching sight triggered a sudden rush of steely resolve through Leonardo's veins. Powerful arms began to automatically scale the mighty edifice in order to reach the divine figure above.

Biting gusts of air assaulted the brawny turtle when he finally reached the top. "Rei," he approached her cautiously, voice steady while cutting to the chase. "We need to talk. We can't go on ignoring each other forever..."

"Can't we, Leonardo?" she replied, seemingly unaffected by the chill.

He swallowed the raging ball of nerves that attempted to shake his determined appearance, and then with more effort, he swallowed his pride. "Well, I can't..."

An intrigued eyebrow arched like a calligraphy stroke across an exquisitely skeptical face as Rei turned to face him, "Go on."

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm really sorry that you saw what you did," Leo spoke slowly, trying to choose his words carefully. "And I know what it must have seemed like, but-"

"You know think you what it seemed like?" Moving as soundlessly and rapidly as butterfly wings, the kunoichi was suddenly standing only centimeters away from his plastron. Anger was revealed as a slender finger prodded him in the chest while focused, lustrous eyes bore unapologeticallly into his soul. "It seems that I spent months opening up to you and exposing all my fears and family secrets, sharing stories that I've never told _anyone_before, and even giving you _all_ of my trust. And how do you reciprocate? You wait for me to turn around to help your father for just a moment, and I come back to see you kissing the woman who tried to _destroy_ me?! **How could you, Leonardo?!** How you harbor such feelings for that monster? _I trusted you!_ I thought we..." her voice was wavering, and the flustered young woman bit her lip.

Seeing Rei's shoulder tremble ever so slightly and her eyes wrought with hurt caused Leonardo to stammer. "N-no, Rei... I never...I mean, yea, I once had feelings for Karai, but that was a _long_ time ago! I was so young and foolish, and it was a total mistake! I should have told you sooner, but I was afraid that you wouldn't trust me. And well, I guess that was really stupid of me in retrospect... but please believe me when I say that my feelings for Karai died a long time ago. What you saw was _her_ kissing me. If I hadn't been paralyzed at the time, I would have _never_ let that happen! This is the truth..."

There was a long pause, as if Rei was waiting for something else, but when nothing else happened, a sadness lingered in her voice when she spoke again. "...Is that all you have to say, Leonardo?"

"I...you..." it was at the tip of his tongue.

The young woman sighed and began to turn away before two large, green hands gripped her shoulders tightly, startling her. Leonardo's voice was then filled with such sudden passion and urgency that it completely froze the doubting kunoichi.

"What am else am I suppose to say, Rei?!" Honey brown eyes were surprisingly inflamed with passion and abandon; blue bandana tails whipped wildly against the wind. "That I haven't been able to stop thinking about you ever since I first laid eyes on you? That I can't even meditate without having you on my mind? That I can no longer sleep knowing that I've hurt you?! That I'm terrified because I've fallen for you?! Is that what you want me to reveal?! Fine then! Take my last remaining truths! I'm in love with you, Rei Hana..."

Silvery eyes glistened with moisture in response to his onslaught of feeling, and a pair of angelic lips fell open, just in time to be enraptured by a heated kiss from the impassioned confessor. One sculpted green arm pulled her tightly against him by her waist and another tilted her head in a way so that he could pour all his pent up frustrations and emotions into the kiss.

Rei's heart was beating harder than a _taiko_ drum. At such great heights, the air around them was frigid and howling, but his lips were so terribly hot. And the fury that drove his kiss penetrated her very bones. In an instant, her own feelings tipped over the brim, and warm tears spilled over her cheeks, dripping onto his beak and thumb. The kunoichi didn't care, as a great burden evaporated from her chest the moment she submitted completely to him and open her mouth a little wider to accomodate his explorations.

Leonardo nearly crushed her in his arms when he suddenly felt her softer, delicate tongue counter his larger one and lick its way around his mouth. Was she was shivering from cold or pleasure? He knew not, but held her tight because he knew didn't want the moment to end.

"You idiot," Rei gasped, heaving for air when their burning lungs finally forced them apart. "All this time..."

"I know," he panted equally hard, unable to take his eyes off her alluringly flushed expression. " I'm an idiot...but will you still have me?"

Her sweet lips crushed themselves against his to answer, quickly escalating the two into a battle of frenzied caresses and consuming kisses. The feeling of her enticing curves beneath the silken kimono was driving the desperate turtle mad. His hands acted on their own accord, loosening her white obi from behind and pushing the robes off her shoulder.

"L-leonardo," Rei shivered. "Right here? For all the world to s-see?"

Yes. He wanted to. The heat rising from his center was telling him to take her right then and there, but he knew he didn't want to give his kunoichi anything less than absolute pleasure. "We have nothing to hide anymore," he said huskily. "But if you prefer something more...modest, I have an idea."

Rei squeaked as she was instantly scooped up into a pair of skillful and sturdy arms. Then she nearly screamed when Leonardo jumped off the ledge of the building in one powerful leap, darting from rooftop with an unfathomable speed and agility. Long hair flew behind her as she slipped her arms tightly around his neck and nestled her face into his neck during the bumpy ride. He smelled like a mixture of metal and faint incense, and Rei felt awash with a feeling of complete security despite his present harrowing acrobatics. Slowly, she placed soft kisses along a vein that protruded from his physical exertion.

"Rei..." Leonardo growled hoarsely. Her touch made focusing on jumping and landing without faltering near impossible. His legs wouldn't seem to obey him against the building pressure beneath his shell. He cleared his throat at the next stop. "Not while I'm trying to stop us from falling to our deaths? We're almost there..." his voice was trying to project order while clearly strained.

The kunoichi laughed and nodded in agreement. "Oh alright... I'm sorry..." she said teasingly.

As it turned out, the destination he had in mind was an abandoned conservatory with breathtakingly high glass ceilings and walls, mostly covered by overgrown plants and hanging ivy. Its intricate structure overlooked an equally overgrown park accented with dilapidated statues that hinted of a romanticized era.

"Oh Leonardo..." the silver-eyed beauty breathed as she took in the beautifully abandoned sight. "How did you...?"

"Found it a long time ago during one of Mikey's game of hide-and-seek. Just never told anyone," Leonardo explained with a little smirk. "I fixed it up a little on the inside so I can come meditate when I need some space from my brothers. It's sort of like my own secret refuge." He winked and carried her inside. She could see the floor was littered with a maze of white wax candles.

Rei smiled softly as he laid her down upon a soft pile of blankets next to a taller stack of various martial art books. "Well, aren't you just full of surprises tonight?" the kunoichi asked rhetorically as she reached up and pulled the large turtle towards her by his bandana tails. He fell forward without struggle to feel her soft and inviting body beneath his hardened build.

"Night's not over yet," Leonardo finished.


	24. Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. My original characters' ninjutsu skills are from the Naruto universe (which I also do not own), but everything else about the story is strictly from the post- 2003-2007 TMNT universe.

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

(Two years later)

An exhausted girl rattled her key impatiently against the lock of her apartment and flung her training bag haphazardly onto the ground upon entering. Worn from a long day, she kicked off her ivory tabi boots and flopped onto the bed face first. Lethargic hands moved up to undo her ballerina bun, spilling a torrent of sakura locks across the bed sheets. "_Nnngh_..." Ish groaned as she finally forced herself sit up. Practice with her team usually didn't tire her out like this, but practice with her team _and_ a bunch of new recruits for the Agency's burgeoning New York branch never failed to turn her into a zombie.

The busy kunoichi used the last of her energy to take a long hot shower and make a hot mug of tea. Her new apartment was spacious, beautiful, and most importantly, the first she owned all by herself. Most people would relish material success like this, but Ish honestly felt a little lonely in the enormous space. Having grown up sharing dorm rooms and living quarters with her teammates, the cheery social butterfly just didn't adjust to living on her own as easily as her teammates. She was also sure this sense of loneliness was driven by the fact that she was missing one particular individual the most. With a heavy sigh, Ish picked up her communicator and dialed a familiar number.

"Hey, is everything alright?" a concerned voice picked up on the other end.

"Hey Aya," Ish fingered the handle of her mug absentmindedly at her desk. "Yea, everything is fine, just wanted to see what you were up to."

"Oh good! I thought for a second that maybe you had some injury from practice today. Rei was really in the zone today, right?"

"Tell me about it," Ish smiled and shook her head knowingly. "I almost feel sorry for those new Agency recruits. Sensei Rei is already known as the notorious hardass. So you doing anything tonight?"

"I'm just hanging out with Donnie at the apartment. What are you up to?"

"Nothing. Pretty bored actually," Ish confessed. "Did you guys wanna come over and watch a movie or something? I can make us dinner!" Ish offered cheerily at the sudden idea of having some company. With their new promotions and salaries, her teammates could each afford their own apartments, and it was decided that living separately would be ideal to give each girl some much needed privacy with their new relationships with their respective turtles. It seemed to be working out great for everyone except Ish at the moment.

"Well, er... I have to finish working on a new chemical compound for our explosives training class next week..." Aya began hesitantly. "You know the recruits won't respect me if I don't come prepared."

"I thought you finished that yesterday though?"

"Oh yea, but...hey, can you hold on for a minute?"

"Yea, sure..." violet eyes dimmed with disappointment. There was rapid shuffling on the other end of the line, the sound of a door opening, closing, and then silence.

"Alright, still there?" Aya's voice re-emeged noticeably hushed.

"Yep."

"Okay, so I lied. I won't be able to leave this apartment tonight at all."

"...Why?"

"Have you checked the calendar?" Aya whispered. "It's that time of the year again..."

Ish glanced over at her wall calendar and noted that today's date was marked with a cute turtle sticker with a heart drawn around it. "Right...mating season for the guys," she said dejectedly.

"Yea, so you know how it is..."

"Well, I _knew_ how it _was._"

"Aw, Ish..." Aya realized a little too late. "I'm sorry. That was really insensitive of me to even bring up. I didn't mean to-"

"It's cool, Aya. I know you didn't. It's just that I miss Mikey so much...I thought he'd be back by now."

"Has he still been writing though?"

"It's been a few weeks since his last letter actually," Ish sighed, digging out a pile of mismatched letters and trinkets from her drawer. There was a wooden carving of a little turtle, a heart-shaped river rock, a dried flower the same shade as her hair, and other little knick knacks that Michelangelo had been sending her from abroad this past year. The young woman unravelled the bound letters and ran her fingertips over the endearingly messy handwriting. Some were brief notes and others long essays, but all were the sweetest most personalized words a girl could ever hope to receive. "Why did Splinter have to send him away for training anyway?"

"It was his time, Ish. You know his brothers had to do it too," Aya paused and then quickly added reassurance for her worried friend. "I'm sure Mikey will write you again soon and tell you when he'll be back. Leo was supposedly gone for a long time too without very many letters, and he returned in one piece, right?"

"Yea, but Leo is Leo. Mikey is well...you know how he is. It's why I love him, but when he's out there by himself-"

"Mikey may get a little reckless sometimes, but he's incredibly skilled," Aya insisted. "Splinter wouldn't have sent him away if he wasn't positive that he was ready."

"That's true..."

"Hey, how about we do breakfast tomorrow?" Aya suggested optimistically. "Just me and you for some girl time?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice," a small smile appeared on the pink-haired kunoichi's lips.

"Maybe you can call Rei and Kaz and see what's going on with them tonight?"

"Well, I don't know...they'd be busy too since, like you said, mating season is starting-"

The sound of a door swinging opening on the other end of the line and a sudden delighted squeal from Aya informed Ish of what was about to happen. "Sorry Ish! I gotta go!" More undecipherable yelps and giggles ensued. "Donniesayshi!"

"Hi Ish," a familiar voice growled in an unexpectedly low tone. "Bye Ish." There was a click, and the conversation was over.

"Have fun you kids," Ish muttered to herself with a shake of her head. Her thumb hovered over Rei and Kaz's avatars on her contact list, but after a few seconds of contemplation, the she just turned off her communicator and crawled back into bed.

* * *

Hours past, and the night had settled comfortably in its starlit sky. In her quiet bedroom, Ish struggled in a restless sleep. She was so caught up in a nightmare that she didn't hear him creep through her window. She didn't notice the heart wrenching sigh he expelled upon noticing all the unfolded letters scattered across her bed. He knew deep down inside that this wasn't the first time she had fallen asleep re-reading his writings.

Powerful arms pulled the fitful young lady securely against a plastron. "Babe..." a voice deeper than she had remembered stirred her from her slumber.

"M-mikey?" her voice quivered.

"Hey," the unmistakable grin and those joyous baby blues came into her blurred vision.

_Is this a dream?_ Ish tried to fight through her haze. Amethyst eyes welled up with tears, unable to bear another beautiful dream that would soon cast her back into a harsh and lonesome reality without him.

"Why are you crying, dudette?" his affable voice soothed. A large calloused thumb brushed a tear off her cheek. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

A slender finger traced the new scars that now marked his plastron, reaching up to inspect the tattered ends of his dusty orange bandana. He laughed softly at her silent disbelief and inspection. It was then that his chuckle, his leathery masculine scent, the coolness of his skin beneath her toasty blankets all added up- it was too real to be a dream. "Mikey!" Ish cried, burying herself deep into the crook of his neck. She was sobbing from both joy and relief. "I was so w-worried...y-you stopped writing..."

He rubbed her back soothingly as he felt his own need grow in response to her touch and feminine scent penetrating his every heightened sense. "I'm so sorry, babe..."

"I've missed you so much."

"Me too. You wouldn't believe how much. I won't leave you like that again..."

Ish pulled back to search the sparkling blue eyes gleaming earnestly. "Promise me?"

"I promise," Thick, green digits, more calloused than she remember, trailed up her arm and ran themselves through her sakura colored locks. Her hair had gotten so long, bangs remained the same, framing her beautiful doll-like features, but billowing cotton candy waves flowed past her collarbones and over the swell of her breasts peeking through the top of her camisole. "Ish..." his voice was hoarse suddenly. "I need you so bad..."

She leaned up to satiate his hunger with a long overdue kiss. Their passion was unmatched; two sets of desperate hands grasped, tugged, and groped at whatever they could reach. Michelangelo made love to Ish that night as though it was his first and last time. First quickly and passionately, then gradually, slowly, savoring every roll of the hip, every moan, and every taste. And he continued to do so through multiple crescendos of pleasure, until the beam of moonlight peering through her curtain became the first beam of sunlight.

If someone had told Michelangelo years ago that he and his brothers would meet a beautiful and highly-skilled team of kunoichi and embark on a dangerous adventure that would ultimately end with each brother finding true love, he would have laughed it off. Such stories were too convenient and meant only for fairy tales. But now, looking at the angelic figure peacefully resting against his plastron, he would say that stranger things have happened. And he was so glad that they did.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, that's it! A heartfelt thank you to all those who have stuck this fic out and read all 23 chapters and epilogue. And of course, thank you to the ladies at The Lair for encouraging me to write my first fanfiction. I hope everyone has enjoyed it! Reviews are much appreciated. Thank you all so very much!


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